THESE  FORTY  YEARS 


REV.  J.  HUDSON   TAYLCR. 


tVontispiice 


THESE  FORTY  YEARS 

A  Short  History 

OF  THE 

China   Inland   Mission 


BY 


F.    HOWARD    TAYLOR 


M.D.,  London,  M.R.C.P. 
F.R.C.S.,  England,  B.S. 


CHINA   INLAND    MISSION 

702  Witherspoon  Building,  -  Philadelphia, 

and 

507  Church  Street,  Toronto. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PEPPER    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

609  Lippincott  Building. 


Copyrighted,  1903. 
PEPPER  PUBLISHING   COMPANY. 


TO   THE 

NORTH  AMERICAN  MEMBERS  AND  FRIENDS 

OF  THE 

CHINA    INLAND    MISSION 

IN    MEMORY  OF 

GREAT    KINDNESS 


CONTENTS. 


Preface    ^^^^- 

PART  I— In  Outline. 

I   Introductory    j- 

II   The  Mission— An  Outline  Sketch 21 

III   The  Need  for  the  Mission  .'    29 

PART  II— In  More  Detail. 

I   The  People  of  China  -jg 

II   An  Effort  to  Meet  the  Need  ..',  44 

III  The  Inception  of  the  Work  48 

IV  The  Man  for  the  Work .' .'  [  53 

V    Purpose  and  Preparation 57 

VI    Formative  Experience  in  China   '.     68 

VII   Inauguration    ge 

VIII     The  First  Four  Years '.    104 

IX   The  Next  Six  Years .".'.'.'.".*.■.'.*.■.'  166 

X    How  God  Opened  the  Far  Interior  210 

XI    The  First  Women  to  go  Inland 240 

XII   An  Ideal  Missionary 272 

XIII  Other  Seventy  Also 279 

XIV  A  New  Sphere  for  Woman 285 

XV   Another  Answer  to  Prayer 208 

XVI   Ask  What  Ye  Will  '..'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  315 

XVII   Extension;  or,  The  Guiding  Hand  of  God 322 

PART  III— Conclusion  :    Recent  Years. 

I    A  Memorable  Journey  -i-ty 

II    Light  and  Shade  '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.351 

III  Blessedly  Uneventful  Years  361 

IV  The  Boxer  Crisis  , "_"  ]  386 

V  Reorganization 407 

VI    Reconstruction  '/']  414 

VII    The  Present  Situation   *    '  422 

VIII  The  Outlook .'!."..*.';;;  429 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Rev.  J.  Hudson  Taylor Frontispiece 

Facing  Page 

Part  of  the  Shanghai  Headquarters 21 

'♦  Never  Out  of  Pain  " 35 

Going  to  Visit  Them 35 

Rev.  J.  Hudson  Taylor 53 

Shanghai 53 

Front  Page  of  the  Old  "  Occasional  Paper  " 95 

* '  In  the  Midst  of  Magnificent  Scenery  " 128 

A  Typical  Country  Scene  in  South  China 150 

Temple  at  Wen-Chau 182 

•'The  Nine  Still  Unoccupied  Provinces " 199 

On  the  Way  to  Ho-nan  ;  the  Rocky  Barrow  Road .    204 

Entrance  of  East  Suburb  of  Ru-ning  Fu 204 

Mr.  Robert  Powell  Traveling  by  Barrow  in  Ho-nan 214 

Mule  Carts  and  Escort,  in  Troublous  Times 214 

Coming  Down  the  Rapids  of  the  Yang-tse 222 

In  the  Imperial  Palace  Grounds 222 

Horse  Market,  Tai-yuan 232 

Typical  Main  Street  in  a  North  China  City 273 

Market  in  North  China 301 

C.  I.  M.  Home  and  Office  in  Toronto 325 

C.  I.  M.  Headquarters  in  London 329 

C.  I.  M.  Boys'  School  at  Chefoo - 369 

Temple  in  Shansi , 376 

The  Ancestral  Burying  Place 380 

Engaged  in  the  Carrying  Trade 392 

Harrowing  a  Rice  Field  with  a  Water-Buffalo 392 


PEEFACE. 


"Remember'' — '^forgot  not,"  said  the  Lord  to 
Israel,  "all  the  way  which  Jehovah  thy  God  hath  led 
thee,  these  forty  years." 

It  is  just  forty  years  now  since  the  earliest  be- 
ginnings of  the  China  Inland  Mission.  The  summer 
of  1862  saw  the  first  answer  to  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor's 
prayer  for  five  missionaries,  for  Mng-po  and  the 
work  he  had  left  behind  two  years  before,  when  in- 
valided home. 

He  was  sure  that  God  would  call  and  send  them, 
in  answer  to  believing  prayer.  He  was  equally  sure 
that  God  would  remember  and  keep  them,  far  away 
upon  the  field.     And  he  was  not  disappointed. 

That  prayer  answered,  he  went  on  to  ask  for  more, 
in  1865,  and  to  attempt  larger  things  for  God.  So, 
praying  and  believing,  the  work  has  grown  and  ex- 
tended "these  forty  years,"  until  now  the  C.  I.  M. 
numbers  eight  hundred  missionaries  and  eight 
hundred  native  helpers,  carrjdng  on  settled  work  at 
three  hundred  stations  and  out-stations,  in  fifteen  of 
the  eighteen  provinces.  And  through  God's  blessing 
upon  the  work,  from  the  beginning,  more  than 
twenty-five  thousand  souls  have  been  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  if 
the  service  involves  sacrifice,  and  even  suffering — 

13 


14  PREFACE. 

v/lien  tlie  eternal  welfare  of  untold  multitudes  is  at 
stake — is  it  not  worth  while?  Besides,  "doth  Job 
serve  God  for  naught?" 

The  members  of  the  Mission,  drawn  from  many 
lands  and  from  all  the  leading  evangelical  denomina- 
tions, are  supported,  month  by  month,  by  funds  that 
come  in  through  the  mail,  mthout  collection  or  ap- 
peal. And  so  unfailing  has  been  the  gracious  pro- 
vision of  God,  that  the  Mission  has  never  been  in 
debt,  though  funds  are  very  rarely  in  hand  before 
they  are  actually  needed.  God's  clocks  keep  perfect 
time. 

May  the  story  of  what  God  has  wrought  through 
this  Mission,  in  answer  to  prayer,  be  an  encourage- 
ment to  those  who  may  read  it.  And  may  we  learn 
to  trust  Him  in  all  things,  no  matter  how  great  or 
how  small.  "He  is  faithful  that  promised."  "Able 
also  to  perform." 


PART   I. 

IN   OUTLINE 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTOKY. 


Under  a  profound  conviction  that  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  China  was  God's  purpose, — that  God  wished 
its  people,  and  all  people,  to  hear  about  the  Lord 
Jesus, — the  China  Inland  Mission  was  organized  in 
1865.  At  that  time  inland  China  was  as  dark  as 
night.  ISTot  a  ray  of  the  coming  da^vn  was  to  be  seen, 
save  on  the  eastern  coast  line  and  in  one  or  two  places 
on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Yang-tse. 

ISTot  only  so,  but  China  was  practically  closed.  To 
go  inland,  even  a  short  distance,  involved  great  hard- 
ship and  peril,  and  was  liable  to  end  in  arrest  and 
disgrace.  Many  who  knew  very  well,  and  cared  not 
a  little,  said,  ^'It  cannot  be  done.'' 

But  God  the  Son  had  said,  "Preach  the  Gospel  to 
every  creature,"  and  what  God  commands  is  always 
possible,  because  God  can  do  it. 

And  God  did  it.  It  cost  a  great  deal  to  His  serv- 
ants who  went.  It  was  never  meant  to  be  other- 
wise. It  cost  Himself  much  to  save  the  world,  poten- 
tially. Redemption  is  costly  at  every  stage.  The 
pioneers  of  inland  China  counted  the  cost,  and  gave 
it  gladly.     The  result  we  all  know,  at  anj^  rate  in 

17 


18  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

part.  Through  their  labors  and  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sionary arniv  wliich  has  joined  hands  in  the  work, 
from  many  lands  and  under  many  Boards,  day  is 
already  dawning  in  China. 

The  day-da'vvn  has  been  overcast  by  a  terrific 
storm,  it  is  true.  But  the  world  is  forming  its  own 
opinion  as  to  whether  this  has  been  due  to  the  peace- 
ful preaching  and  practical  proving  of  the  Gospel  of 
love  and  good-will  or  to  rapacious  foreign  aggression. 
We  know  which  would  be  most  likely  to  stir  up 
trouble  here  at  home ! 

Already  the  clouds  have  lifted;  the  workers  have 
returned  to  their  stations,  many  of  which  are  several 
months'  journey  up  country.  May  we  not  hope,  must 
we  not  pray,  that  these  things  may  be  caused  to  turn 
out  ^^rather  to  the  furtherance  of  the  GospeF'  by  Him 
Who  "worketh  all  things  according  to  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  His  will?''  God  reigneth;  His  shall  be  the 
victory. 

In  one  brief  generation,  ^^What  hath  God 
wrought!"  Then,  not  a  soul  enlightened  in  all  the 
vast  territory  of  inland  China.  ISTow,  hundreds  of 
churches  dotted  all  over  the  country,  from  the  Great 
Wall  on  the  north  to  the  borders  of  Ton-kin,  from 
ISTankin  away  west  to  Thibet.  Then,  in  1865,  less 
than  three  thousand  Protestant  Christians  all  told, 
including  Chinese  colonists  down  in  the  Malay  penin- 
sula. Now,  including  believers  not  yet  baptized  and 
the  children  of  Christian  families,  not  fewer  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  in  China  alone. 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

The  dawn  has  come.    May  we  not  confidently  ex- 
pect, and  pray  and  work  for  the  Coming  Day  ? 
■3f  -x-  *  -X-  *  *  *  -x- 

An  appreciative  newspaper  report  of  a  missionarv' 
meeting  ended  as  follows:  ^'The  venerable  speaker 
concluded  a  long  and  most  interesting  address  by 
stating  that  the  members  of  this  Mission  were  de- 
pendent upon  chance  providences  for  a  scanty  sub- 
sistence." The  venerable  speaker  was  the  Rev.  J. 
Hudson  Taylor,  and  the  mission  was  the  China  In- 
land Mission. 

True,  the  Mission  has  no  income  but  that  which 
comes  in  answer  to  prayer;  but  it  does  not  come  by 
chance !  True,  the  work  only  costs  a  little  more 
than  three  Imndred  and  fifty  dollars  a  worker  per 
annum,  including  the  considerable  extra  expense  of 
furlough,  and  it  is  run  on  economical  lines;  but — ask 
a  C.  I.  M.  member  if  God's  provision  is  scanty,  and 
see  what  he  mil  say ! 

I  suppose  that  its  missionaries  calculate,  if  He 
withholds  "no  good  thing  from  them  that  walk  up- 
rightly,'' they  are  all  right.  That  is,  if  they  are 
v.-alking  uprightly;  and  if  they  are  not,  and  good 
things  are  withheld,  the  sooner  they  get  right  the 
])etter. 

This  calculation  has  worked  well  for  thirty-seven 
years,  ever  since  the  work  was  started.  The  Mission 
has  never  been  a  penny  in  debt.  Some  of  its  workers 
have  occasionally  been  short,  for  a  brief  testing  time, 
but  never  have  had  to  sco  without  a  meal.    All  their 


20  THESE    FORTY    YEAKS. 

needs  and  most  of  their  wants  have  been  met  with  a 
bountiful  hand. 

A  suitable  candidate  has  never  been  refused  for 
lack  of  funds.  If  the  funds  have  been  lacking,  he 
has  simply  been  accepted  and  invited  to  join  in  ask- 
ing God  to  send  him  out;  and  the  money  has  been 
sent,  and  the  man  has  gone,  and  has  perhaps  been 
none  the  worse  for  having  prayed  himself  into  the 
work. 

Furloughs  are  sometimes  a  difficulty.  But  when 
fimds  are  needed  to  send  workers  home  an  appeal  is 
made  for  money  to  Him  to  Whom  it  all  belongs,  so 
He  says.    And  He  sends  it. 

Ever  since  the  work  began  its  history  has  been  one 
of  extension.  There  has  never  been  a  retrenchment 
from  shortness  of  supplies.  God  has  supplied  all  the 
need.  Is  that  strange  ?  At  long  intervals  consolida- 
tion rather  than  expansion  has  been  dictated  by  the 
Great  Treasurer,  by  His  sending  only  Avhat  was 
sufficient  for  existing  needs.  For  instance.  He  did 
so  during  the  year  or  two  before  the  recent  troubles. 
We  know  why,  now.  What  use  to  open  new  stations 
for  the  Boxers  to  close,  too  soon  for  the  infant 
churches  to  stand  alone? 

It  seems  to  work  well — trusting  in  God  to  fulfill 
His  promises.  The  members  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  have  not  found  liviug  by  faith  in  God  the 
same  thing  as  depending  ^^on  chance  providences  for 
a  scanty  subsistence !'' 


CHAPTEK    11. 


THE   MISSION AN   OUTLINE   SKETCH. 

The  China  Inland  Mission  is  an  association  of 
missionaries  which  was  suggested  and  founded  in 
1865  by  the  Kev.  J.  Hudson  Taylor,  with  the  avowed 
hope  and  purpose  of  commencing  the  evangelization 
of  the  entirely  untouched  interior  of  China. 

By  the  blessing  of  God  it  has  succeeded  in  its 
original  aim  beyond  the  hopes  of  its  founder,  and 
noAV  numbers  over  eight  hundred  missionaries,  from 
many  lands  and  from  all  the  leading  evangelical  de- 
nominations, together  with  an  equal  number  of 
native  helpers.  Its  members  are  working  in  all  of 
the  eleven  provinces  of  the  interior,  which  were  with- 
out the  Gospel  in  1865;  it  has  settled  stations  and 
many  established  churches  in  ten,  and  has  done  itin- 
erant work  in  the  eleventh;  it  has  also  many  stations 
in  i-nland  districts  of  provinces  on  the  coast.  In  all, 
there  are  missionaries  in  one  hundred  and  sixty  sta- 
tions, and  an  equal  number  of  out-stations  in  charge 
of  native  helpers. 

The  way  God  has  dealt  with  the  Mission  in  the 
matter  of  funds  has  been  remarkable  and  very 
gracious,  and  has  not  only  strengthened  the  faith  of 
its  own  members,  but  of  many  other  workers  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.     When  the  work  was  being  in- 

21 


22  THESE    rOETY    YEARS. 

aiigurated  it  was  felt  to  be  of  great  importance,  and 
was  a  matter  of  constant  concern  to  Mr.  Taylor  and 
his  friends,  that  the  new  mission  should  not  inter- 
fere in  any  way  ^vith  existing  missionary  work.  It 
was  determined  never  to  take  up  collections,  lest  the 
contributions  of  the  churches  to  their  own  Boards 
should  be  diminished,  and  this  decision  was  come  to 
the  more  readily,  because  it  was  realized  that  God 
could  just  as  easily  provide  in  other  ways.  If  God 
wished  this  work  to  be  done,  and  they  obeyed  His 
command  and  set  about  it.  He  would  be  sure  to  look 
after  His  side  of  the  contract!  Were  they  not 
promised,  "Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His 
righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you  ?" 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  these  years  every  need  of 
the  work,  large  or  small,  has  been  met  as  it  has 
ansen,  by  moneys  sent  in  unasked — usually  through 
the  post — in  ansAver  to  prayer.  "He  abideth  faithful. 
He  cannot  deny  Himself.^' 

It  was  manifest  that  if  no  human  means  were  used 
to  collect  funds,  no  collections  taken  and  no  appeals 
sent  out,  the  work  could  go  on  only  so  long  as  it  had 
God's  approval.  And  herein  was  at  once  its  weak- 
ness and  its  strength.  It  was  profoundly  important, 
obviously,  to  have  the  right  workers,  men  and  women 
of  faith  and  spiritual  power,  wdth  a  single  eye  to 
God's  glory.  It  was  essential  that  the  work  should  be 
done  in  Scriptural  ways,  following  faithfully  the 
lines  laid  down  by  the  Holy  Spirit.    If  work  which 


THE    MISSION AN'  OUTLINE    SKETCH.  23 

had  not  God's  approval  were  started,  or  if  the  work- 
ers were  out  of  touch  with  Him,  or  unscriptural 
plans  were  adopted,  woe  betide  the  China  Inland 
Mission ! 

It  was  easy  to  see  also  that  as  the  Mission  had  no 
endowment  or  settled  income,  and  God  has  told  us 
to  "owe  no  man  anything,"  it  was  impossible  for  the 
missionaries  to  be  promised  a  settled  salary.  Every 
worker  must  go  out  in  simple,  direct  dependence 
upon  God  Himself  for  everything,  not  only  without 
salary,  but  without  guarantee  even  of  food  and  cloth- 
ing, save  indeed  the  absolute  guarantee  of  God's 
word,  ^^'No  good  thing  will  He  withhold  from  them 
that  walk  uprightly."  They  mean  to  walk  uprightly, 
and  God's  honor  is  at  stake.  ISTeed  it  be  added  that 
their  every  need  is  met? 

Taking  the  Mission  as  a  whole,  the  ordinary  ex- 
pense per  worker  will  perhaps  be  two  hundred  dol- 
lars a  year  for  personal  use,  and  another  hundred 
dollars  for  share  of  house-rents,  cost  of  long  journeys, 
and  a  variety  of  other  expenses  (met  by  the  Mission 
on  a  sort  of  cooperative  plan),  in  all  about  three 
hundred  dollars  a  year  is  the  usual  expense  of  a 
single  missionary,  besides  another  seventy-five  dol- 
lars a  year,  on  an  average,  toward  the  heavy  extra 
expense  of  furlough.  The  missionary  cannot  live  at 
home  as  cheaply  as  in  China,  and  the  voyage  to  and 
fro  is  a  heavy  additional  item. 

As  to  the  workers  chosen,  not  only  must  they  be 
men  and  women  of  faith,  they  must  also  be  soul-win- 


24  THESE    FORTY   YEAKS. 

ners.  A  sea  voyage  will  not  make  a  missionary  of 
anyone.  Spiritual  qualifications  are  of  course  of 
higher  importance  than  imiversity  training,  and 
Avhile  a  large  number  of  the  workers  have  been 
through  college,  many  have  only  had  a  good  general 
education.  God  often  uses  such,  at  home;  if  they  are 
suitable  in  other  ways,  why  should  they  not  be 
similarly  blessed  among  the  ignorant  heathen? — 
ignorant  as  judged  by  Western  standards.  The 
worker  will  need  a  thorough  Chinese  education  in 
any  case,  or  he  will  be  counted  ignorant  by  the 
educated,  and  soon  by  the  uneducated  people  among 
whom  he  goes  to  work,  and  whose  respect  is  of  such 
paramount  importance  if  he  would  win  them  for  the 
Master.  It  will  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  all, 
or  nearly  all  who  offer  themselves  are  accepted.  In 
1887,  for  instance,  when  earnest  prayer  was  going 
up  to  God  for  one  hundred  new  missionaries  within 
the  year,  reinforcements  that  were  urgently  needed, 
there  were  over  six  hundred  candidates,  about  eighty- 
four  per  cent,  of  whom  were  advised  either  to  wait 
01  to  seek  some  other  sphere  of  service.  Those  who 
do  go  are  picked  men  and  women.  Health,  age, 
character,  temperament,  experience,  knowledge  of 
the  Bible,  the  equipment  of  the  Spirit,  all  are  taken 
into  account.  And  above  all,  God  is  asked  and  is  ex- 
pected to  guide  in  every  case. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  China  Inland  Mission 
is  undenominational.  This  is  not  strictly  correct. 
The    members    do    not    undenominationalize    them- 


THE    MISSION AN    OUTLINE    SKETCH.  25 

selves.  They  remain,  with  rare  exceptions,  just  what 
they  were.  It  is  inter-denoininational,  and  has  room 
for  every  suitable  worker  who  is  sound  in  the  Faith, 
irrespective  of  minor  differences  in  creed.  And  in 
China,  each  member  is  free  to  work  with  those  of  his 
own  way  of  thinking;  and,  as  regards  church 
organization,  in  whatever  Avay  he  believes  to  be 
Scriptural  and  wise.  Care  is  taken,  of  course,  to  avoid 
confusing  the  Christians  by  changes  of  denomi- 
national teaching,  and  neighboring  stations  are 
usually  similar  in  method  for  the  same  reason.  Here 
a  district  as  large  as  England  is  worked  by  Church- 
men, under  their  own  Bishop  (wdio  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Mission);  there  half  a  province  is  worked  by 
Presbyterians;  Yun-nan  has  mostly  Methodist  work- 
ers; another  district  is  wholly  Baptist,  and  so  on.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  some  provinces  the  missionaries 
work  together,  on  very  primitive,  Acts-of-the- Apos- 
tles lines,  scarcely  knowing,  or  not  knowing  at  all, 
what  the  others  think  on  denominational  matters. 
These  differences  loom  large  at  home,  but  when  two 
or  three  isolated  believers  are  suiTOunded  by  multi- 
tudes of  heathen,  perhaps  hostile  heathen,  it  seems 
better  to  agree  to  differ,  and  differing  to  agree. 

The  fundamental  doctrines  of  Scripture:  That 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God;  that  the  saved  are  saved 
through  faith  in  Him;  that  the  lost  are  lost  because 
they  sin  against  the  light  they  have;  that  the  Bible 
is  the  inspired,  authoritative  Word  of  God — these  are 
essential,  of  course.    It  is  no  use  to  send  men  out  to 


26  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

teach  a  human  Gospel  that  has  neither  divine  au- 
thority nor  power.  In  China  they  have  enough  of 
human  doctrines  already.  AVhat  they  need  is  God's 
Truth  and  God's  Spirit. 

The  entire  superintendence  of  the  work  on  the  field 
is  another  feature  of  the  Mission.  A  Council  of  ex- 
perienced missionaries,  presided  over  by  Mr.  Taylor, 
or  in  his  absence  by  the  China  Director,  guide  the 
work  on  the  spot,  and  all  minor  matters  are  referred, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  the  Provincial  Superintendents, 
who  are  ex-officio  members  of  the  Council.  Long  and 
varied  experience  among  the  people,  and  thorough 
knowdedge  of  local  conditions  can  be  brought  to  bear 
on  all  important  questions,  and,  after  prayerful  con- 
sideration, decisive  action  can  be  taken  without  de- 
lay, which  is  often  of  profound  importance  both  to 
the  workers  and  the  work. 

As  to  missionary  methods,  ^^all  things  to  all  men," 
"that  I  might  gain  the  more"  is  the  guiding  principle. 
The  members  wear  the  native  dress  and  live  in  native 
houses.  Many  eat,  with  chopsticks  instead  of  knife 
and  fork,  the  native  food,  but  this  last  is  optional.  In 
dress,  in  language,  in  deportment,  in  the  minor 
courtesies  of  life,  it  is  easy  to  follow,  as  far  as  may 
be,  what  the  people  respect  in  their  educated  fellow- 
coimtrymen.    And  it  pays. 

Itineration  first,  then  stations  in  the  more  im- 
portant cities  as  the  way  opens  up,  and  then  out-sta- 
tions, with  a  presiding  elder  or  native  evangelist,  is 
the  usual  order  of  procedure. 


THE    MISSION AHi    OUTLINE    SKETCH.  27 

It  is  very  important^  and  this  can  hardly  be  too 
much  emphasized;  to  spend  as  little  money  as  pos- 
sible in  a  new  station.  Asa  general  rule,  large  build- 
ings in  a  new  station,  or  even  considerable  personal 
expenditure,  means  a  small  and  unsatisfactory 
church.  The  richer  the  missionaiy  and  the  mission 
seems,  the  more  surely  does  he  become  surrounded 
by  unworthy  men  who  come  merely  for  what  they 
can  gain.  True  inquirers  are  often  literally  unable 
to  break  through  such  a  circle.  And  pitifully  dis- 
heartening work  it  is  in  such  a  case.  Self-sacrifice 
purchased  our  pardon.  And,  in  soul-saving  work, 
self-sacrifice  is  God's  way  still.  "lie  hmnbled  Him- 
self.''   So  may  we. 

Prayer,  of  course,  is  the  backbone  of  all  the  work, 
as  of  every  Christian  enterprise.  A  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  has  been  held  in  London,  where  the  work 
commenced,  regularly  for  thirty-seven  years;  a  daily 
prayer-meeting  is  held  at  the  headquarters  in  Eng- 
land, America,  Australia  and  China,  and  at  the 
scattered  stations  it  is  the  rule,  to  which  there  are 
few  if  any  exceptions,  to  remember  every  member  of 
the  Mission  at  the  daily  prayer-meetings  at  least 
cnce  a  week  by  name.  Every  need,  not  only  of  the 
Mission  as  a  whole,  but  also  of  each  individual 
member,  is  met  in  answer  to  prayer. 

With  all.  its  faults — and  it  has  many;  may  the 
Master  enable  it  to  see  them  clearly  and  to  put  them 
right— God  is  in  it.  God's  command  started  it. 
God's  provision  has  kept  it  going  without  ever  in- 


28  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

curring  debt.  God's  power  has  opened  inland 
China  partly  through  its  means.  And  God's  pres- 
ence has  enabled  the  workers  to  face  overwhelming 
difficulties,  to  endure  hardness,  and  by  lore  to  con- 
quer opposition,  and  even  in  some  cases  to  win  the 
martyr's  crown.  Untold  multitudes  have  heard  the 
Gospel  and  many  thousands  have  been  ^^added  to 
the  Lord."  And  at  last  there  are  signs  that,  through 
many  Missions,  the  Truth  is  slowly  beginning  to  in- 
fluence the  country  as  a  whole.  The  way  of  the 
cross  is  again  proving  the  way  to  victory.  All  glory 
to  God! 


CHAPTEE    III. 


THE  NEED  FOR  THE  MISSION. 

The  present  condition  of  China  after  nearly  four 
thousand  years  of  more  or  less  settled  national  exist- 
ence is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  insufficiency 
of  mere  education,  civilization  and  high  moral  teach- 
ing to  regenerate  a  people,  A^dthout  the  re-creating 
power  and  life-gi^dng  presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  Himself. 

Civilized,  very  highljy  civilized  as  things  went  then, 
three  thousand  years  ago,  they  have  enjoyed  the 
fruits  of  civilization,  of  settled  government,  of  good 
laws — among  the  best,  perhaps,  that  are  not  based 
directly  or  indirectly  on  the  Bible — and  of  a  very 
considerable  degree  of  culture  ever  since,  and  yet  the 
average  life  of  the  average  Chinaman  to-day  is  dark, 
degraded,  and  wicked  to  a  deplorable  degree. 

Educated,  as  a  people,  more  generally  perhaps 
than  any  other  great  heathen  nation,  with  a  system  of 
education  based  upon  the  Confucian  classics,  that 
date  back  in  their  present  form  to  five  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  our  Lord,  they  are  yet,  compared 
with  Christian  countries,  ignorant,  superstitious, 
ciedulous,  priest-ridden,  almost  beyond  belief. 

Influenced,  dominated  mentally,  by  a  moral  code 
so  high  that  it  has  never  been  equaled,  save  by  the 

29 


30  '       THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

direct  revelation  from  God,  they  are  yet  to-day  so 
immoral  tliat  Paul's  description  of  heathendom  in 
his  time,  in  Romans  I — that  most  awful  description 
of  godless  peoples — applies  without  the  alteration  of 
a  word  to  China  as  it  is  at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth 
century. 

So  utterly  impotent  fire  civdlization,  education  and 
etliics  alone,  to  elevate  a  people,  even  with  the  op- 
portunity of  millenniums. 

We  learn  something  in  Genesis  of  the  malignity  of 
the  devil,  in  the  sad  and  but  too  true  story  of  the  fall; 
we  read  more  in  Job  of  his  remorseless  cruelty;  we 
gather  something  of  his  awful  power  over  the  lost, 
the  living  lost,  in  the  Gospel  narratives,  attested  by 
our  Lord  Himself,  of  demon-tormented  men  and 
women  and  even  children !  We  see  in  the  story  of 
the  temptation  his  unabashed  audacity  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  very  Son  of  God. 

And  one  sees  in  China,  with  one's  own  eyes,  in  a 
few  years'  residence  up  country,  proofs,  quite  as 
vivid  and  quite  as  awful,  of  the  same  malevolent  in- 
genuity, proofs  not  in  individual  cases  only,  though 
these  are  constantly  before  one,  but  in  the  Chinese 
a?  a  people,  in  their  customs  and  beliefs  and  fears,  ii 
their  dark,  superstitious  lives  and  in  the  terrible 
agony  of  terror  so  sadly  common  in  a  heathen's 
death. 

If  ever  an  individual  needed  saving  the  Chinaman 
does.  And  if  ever  a  people  needed  the  uplifting,  en- 
nobling, emancipating  power  of  Jesus  Christ,  surely 


THE    NEED    FOR    THE    MISSION.  31 

the  dark,  degraded,  godless  people  of  China  need  it 
to-day. 

So  much,  very  briefly,  for  the  degree  of  the  need ; 
now  let  ns  look  for  a  moment  at  its  magnitude. 

We  can  form  some  idea  of  what  it  would  mean  for 
the  reader  or  the  writer,  instead  of  being  a  child  of 
God,  to  be  in  the  dread  power  of  the  enemy  of  souls, 
such,  doctrinally  and  actually,  is  the  state  of  each  in- 
dividual unsaved  Chinaman.*  Multiply  that  a 
hundredfold,  a  thousandfold,  a  millionfold,  and 
one  begins  to  feel  how  unutterable  is  the  need  of  the 
four  hundred  millions  of  China.  God  help  us  to  feel 
that  need  in  the  awful  depth  of  its  full  significance. 

Every  one  of  them,  every  single  soul,  is  a  man  or 
woman  or  child  for  whom  Christ  died.  For  He  is 
^^the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.''    He  "tasted  death  for  every  man." 

Jesus  has  purchased  for  each  one  of  them  pardon 
and  peace  and  eternal  life.  It  is  their  birthright  to 
know  it.  He  said,  tell  "the  Gospel  to  every  creature.'' 
And  we  have  not  done  it. 

Till  our  Lord's  command  is  obeyed  what  tre- 
mendous responsibility  rests  upon  the  Church  uni- 
versal, of  which  we  are  members!  God  help  us  to 
feel  it  and  to  care.  How  callous  we  get  sometimes. 
A  man  there  that  we  might  save,  through  the  power 
of  "Christ  in  us,"  if  we  went  and  gave  him  the  Gos- 


*"We  know,"  the  Holy  Ghost  teaches,  "that  we  are  of 
God,  and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  evil  one." 


32  THESE    FOKTY    YEARS. 

pel — shall  we  let  him  pass  on,  imcared  for,  from  a 
dark  life  into  a  darker  and  more  dreadful  eternity  ? 
And  to  how  many  such,  each  additional  missionary 
is  able  to  offer  the  ineffable  gift  of  Salvation  ! 

And  if  we  cannot  go  shall  we  let  the  matter  slide  ? 
Or  shall  we  earnestly  ask,  ^'Is  there  anything  I  can  do 
at  home  toward  saving  the  heathen,  that  I  have  not 
done  ?  God  help  me  to  do  it."  Would  it  not  be  aw- 
ful to  meet  men  and  women  at  tlie  Judgment  Throne 
whom  we  might  have  saved  if  we  had  only  cared 
enough  to  do  what  we  could  for  their  present  and 
eternal  happiness  ? 

It  may  perhaps  help  in  forming  some  idea  of  the 
darkness  of  the  heathen^s  life  to  visit  in  imagination 
an  imevangelized  city  in  the  heart  of  China.  One 
Sunday,  resting  on  a  journey,  the  writer's  boat  was 
moored  opposite  the  great  city  of  Huai-yuan,  in  the 
province  of  An-huei.  It  was  an  intact  stronghold 
of  heathen  darkness,  without  a  ray  of  Gospel  light. 
Let  us  visit  it  together. 

We  enter  by  the  south  gate  and  walk  right 
through  the  city,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  making 
a  mental  note  of  the  faces  of  the  people.  They  are 
mostly  men,  of  course,  women  stay  at  home.  But 
those  men's  faces  impress  us.  Among  all  the 
hundreds,  the  thousands  that  we  pass  on  the  busy 
streets,  there  is  not  a  single  one  with  a  restful,  satis- 
fied expression.  Many  are  hostile,  many  are  in- 
different, but  all  alike  are  lacking  in  inward  peace 
and  love   and  joyfulness,   the   graces   of  the   Holy 


THE   NEED    FOR   THE    MISSION.  33 

Ghost.  And  this  lack  is  manifest  in  every  face. 
"Without  Christ,  having  no  hope;  without  God  in 
the  world." 

A  few  days  later,  as  we  journey  up  the  river,  we 
come  to  the  city  of  T'ai-ho,  and  join,  perhaps  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday,  in  public  worship.  E'ow  watch  the 
faces,  the  happy,  transformed  faces  of  the  Christians, 
as  they  listen  to  the  story  of  the  love  and  life  and 
death  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  How  great  the  con- 
trast between  those  heathen  faces  and  the  faces  of  a 
company  of  native  Christians.  It  seems  scarcely 
possible  that  a  few  brief  years,  perhaps  only  weeks, 
since  they  learnt  to  know  Him,  could  make  so  great 
a  difference. 

Think  of  it.  The  city  of  Huai-yuan  has  a  popula- 
tion of  perhaps  two  hundred  thousand,  no  one  knows 
exactly;  and  there  are  hundreds  of  other  cities  just 
as  large  and  just  as  needy.  There  are  more  than  a 
thousand  governing  "cities,"  that  is,  capitals  of 
counties,  in  which  a  missionary  or  even  a  native 
Christian  has  never  been  located,  even  now.  And 
yet  some  people  think  that  the  needs  of  China  are 
fairly  met.  Of  course  the  need  was  very  much 
greater  in  1865. 

If  this  is  the  impression  left  by  a  single  visit  to  a 
heathen  city,  what  would  be  the  impression  if  we 
could  stay  long  enough  to  get  to  know  something  of 
the  individual  lives  of  the  people  ? 

Let  us  stay  among  them;  mingle  freely  in  their 
streets  and  markets  and  fairs;  accept  invitations  into 


34  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

their  homes ;  pay  visits  to  the  sick ;  rescue  the  lives  of 
some  of  the  many  suicides,  and  a  steadily  deepening 
conviction  will  grow  of  the  awful  needs  of  the  people. 

The  men  we  find  on  the  whole  fairly  contented 
with  their  lot;  certainly  most  of  them  are  industrious. 
But  as  one  gets  to  know  them  more  intimately, 
"There  is  none  good,  no  not  one,"  is  called  to  mind. 
They  are  just  heathen,  that  says  it  all  in  one  word. 
They  are  ^\^cked;  we  hardly  know  what  w^ickedness 
is  until  we  go  to  :x  heathen  coimtry;  they  are  impure 
in  heart  and  life;  they  are  selfish,  grossly,  callously 
selfish,  caring  little  or  nothing  for  the  sufferings  of 
their  less  fortunate  neighbors.  They  have  no  asylums 
for  the  blind,  no  hospitals  for  the  sick,  jio  homes  for 
the  lame  or  maimed  or  incurable,  and  in  most  of  the 
cities  no  almshouses  or  other  provision  for  the  aged 
poor. 

Alas,  how  can  they  but  be  so  ? — without  any  ray  of 
that  "wisdom  that  comes  from  above,"  and  "is  first 
pure,  then  peaceable  —  full  of  mercy  and  good 
fruits"? 

Such  are  the  lives  of  the  men  on  the  street.  And 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  millions  of  unfortunates 
who  are  victims  to  opium,  or  to  intemperance,  to  im- 
morality, or  that  most  enthralling  of  passions,  so 
ubiquitous  in  China,  the  passion  of  gambling — 
victims  without  a  Saviour? 

But  if  the  lives  of  the  men  are  sad,  those  of  the 
women  in  the  homes  are  sadder.  Despised,  down- 
trodden, ill-treated  and  neglected,  the  lot  of  woman  in 


'•NEVER    OUT    OF  .PAIN. 


GOING    TO    VISIT    THEM. 


THE    NEED    FOR    THE    MISSION.  35 

China  is  pitiable  indeed.  Unwelcome  when  bom,  un- 
loved in  young  womanhood,  unhonoxed  in  old  age;  is 
it.  any  wonder  that  so  many  commit  suicide  every 
year?  Unprotected,  too,  their  parents  or  husbands 
may  kill  them,  or  sell  them,  and  often  do.  And  there 
is  no  redress.    Do  not  the  women  belong  to  them? 

Saddest  of  all  are  the  lives  of  the  children,  es- 
pecially the  girl  children.  Take  this  one  fact :  From 
the  time  she  is  four  or  five  years  old  until  she 
is  twenty-five  a  girl  is  never  out  of  pain,  from  the 
cruel  custom  of  foot-binding,  which  is  almost  uni- 
versal, except  among  the  poorest  and  most  degraded. 
^The  dark  places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the  habita- 
tions of  cruelty."  Heathendom  7ieeds  the  Gospel. 
And  thirty-seven  years  ago  inland  China  was  utterly 
without  its  light,  its  comfort,  its  hope. 

To  these  thoughts  as  to  the  need  then,  might  be 
added  in  confirmation  now,  the  marvelous  results  of 
a  third  of  a  century  of  Christian  work.  ^^Tot  only  is  it 
true  that  God  commands  us  to  give  them  the  Gospel, 
a  fact  which  must  ever  stand  above  all  other  con- 
siderations, as  regards  the  claim  upon  us  of  work 
among  the  heathen,  but  the  experience  of  thirty 
years  has  proved  that  the  Gospel  just  meets  their 
need — the  great  yearning  need  of  God  in  every 
human  heart.  God's  will,  again,  has  vindicated  itself. 
What  He  commands  is  wise,  as  well  as  right. 

Who  could  have  believed,  who  could  have  hoped 
Qt  the  commencement  of  the  last  third  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  that  missionary  work  would  have  ac- 


36  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

complished  what  it  has? — such  a  work,  judged  not 
merely  by  numerical  results  which  are  astonishing  in- 
deed, as  will  be  seen  in  later  chapters,  but  by  the 
much  more  crucial  tests  of  1900,  when  the  native 
Christians,  in  the  fires  of  the  bitterest  persecution, 
and  even  the  literal  fires  of  martyrdom,  so  nobly 
proved  their  right  to  be  enrolled  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Church  of  Christ. 

The  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  is  just  what  they  need, 
and  has  proved  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
unnumbered  thousands  of  Chinamen  and  China- 
women. 

But  in  1865  Han-kow  and  a  few  places  along  the 
coast,  alone,  were  being  touched  with  the  Gospel,  and 
with  that  small  exception  China — ^vast,  continental 
China — ^was  entirely  without  the  Light  of  Life.  In- 
land China  (excluding  the  coast  belt  and  the  region 
round  Han-kow),  with  an  area  of  four  million  square 
miles,  about  a  third  as  large  again  as  the  United 
States,  and  a  population  of  over  three  hundred 
millions,  was  utterly  without  any  knowledge  what- 
ever of  the  only  Name  under  heaven  whereby  men 
may  be  saved. 

Is  it  any  wonder,  when  other  Missions  could  not 
take  up  that  work,  so  desperately  needed,  that  Hud- 
son Taylor  felt  it  must  be  done,  even  if  a  new  Mis- 
sion had  to  be  originated  for  the  purpose? 

Huai-yuan,  referred  to  upon  pages  21  and  22,  has  re- 
cently been  opened  by  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board.     May  God  prosper  them! 


PART  II. 
IN   MORE  DETAIL. 


CHAPTEK    I. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  CHINA. 

At  a  picturesque  little  town  on  the  wild,  mag- 
nificent west  coast  of  New  Zealand  we  were  to  ad- 
dress a  missionary  meeting  in  the  spring  of  1900. 
When  my  wife  and  I  went  on  the  platform  and  saw 
the  audience  we  Avere  not  a  little  surprised  to  find  an 
upturned  sea  of  Chinese  faces.  They  had  come  early 
and  crowded  out  the  friends  we  came  to  meet,  so 
eager  were  they  to  get  tidings  from  the  fatherland. 
The  church  was  full  of  Chinamen,  so  the  missionary 
meeting  had  to  be  held  at  nine  o'clock  instead  of 
eight. 

To  us,  of  course,  it  was  deeply  interesting  to  be 
face  to  face  with  that  eager,  expectant  Chinese  audi- 
ence. Closely  packed,  right  across  the  building,  in 
rows  a  yard  apart,  they  seemed  a  picture  in  miniature 
of  crowded  China.  But  that  audience,  seated  as  they 
were,  about  eighteen  abreast,  w^ould  need  to  be  con- 
tinued row  after  row,  row  after  row,  on  and  on, 
more  than  half  way  round  the  world,  to  contain  all 
the  Chinese  in  China.  Have  we  any  adequate  con- 
ception of  the  immense  population  of  that  dark, 
needy  land  ? 

As  we  have  already  seen,  thirty-seven  years  ago 
the  interior  of  that  great  empire,  which  includes  one- 

39 


40  THESE   FORTY   YEAES. 

eleventh  of  the  land  area  of  the  globe  and  a  popula- 
tion estimated  at  four  hundred  millions,  was  entirely 
without  the  Gospel. 

It  was  to  help  bring  about  a  change  in  this  de- 
plorable state  of  things  that  the  ^^China  Inland  Mis- 
sion" was  formed. 

******* 

Everybody  is  aware  that  China  is  the  greatest 
country  in  the  world,  as  far  as  population  is 
concerned,  and  that  it  has  a  past  to  be  proud  of;  but 
it  is  not  so  generally  recognized  that  the  Chinese 
have  national  characteristics  that,  given  fair  play, 
promise  a  future  far  greater  than  the  past. 

We  know  something  about  their  industry  and  their 
thrift.  We  know  less,  probably,  about  their  brilliant 
commercial  instincts  and  adaptability.  We  knew 
little  or  nothing  until  quite  recently  of  the  per- 
tinacity of  their  conservatism,  of  the  determined  ad- 
herence to  their  own  beliefs  of  right  and  wrong. 
They  have  grit. 

They  need  new  ideas;  they  need  better  methods; 
they  need  still  more,  leaders.  But  they  have  men; 
men  capable  of  remarkable  development,  of  brilliant 
achievements,  and  under  Christian  influence  as  we 
now  know,  of  magnificent  steadfastness  under  bitter 
persecution  and  all  the  terrible  concomitants  of 
martyrdom. 

The  filial  piety  of  the  Chinese  is  proverbial.  And 
this  goes  much  deeper  than  many  suppose.  A  well- 
trained  young   Chinaman  is  as   considerate   of  his 


THE   PEOPLE    OF    CHINA.  41 

parents'  wishes  and  feelings  and  as  obedient,  at  least 
in  many  cases,  as  heart  could  wish.  Then  they  are 
also  a  very  grateful  people.  Every  missionary  has 
many  evidences  of  this,  perhaps  medical  missionaries 
most  of  all,  for  they  have  something  to  give  that  the 
people  want,  and  know  they  want,  and  when  it  is 
given,  the  gratitude  returned  is  often  most  encourag- 
ing. Again,  they  are  a  most  religious  people.  Of 
which  the  immense  sum  spent  annually  on  the  public 
and  private  worship  of  the  gods  and  of  departed 
spirits  may  be  adduced  as  one  proof  among  many. 

The  faithfulness  of  the  Chinese  is  scarcely 
recognized  in  the  West  by  those  who  do  not  person- 
ally know  them,  but  in  China,  in  the  great  foreign 
banks  at  the  treaty  ports,  all  the  silver  (i.  e.  the  cur- 
rent coin)  is  in  the  hands  of  Chinese  clerks.  The 
same  holds  good  in  Japan,  where  the  wealthier 
Japanese  merchants  trust  them  as  cashiers,  and  in 
many  positions  of  responsibility,  where  they  would 
not  and  could  not  trust  their  own  people.  Their 
faithfulness  was  also  most  conspicuously  in  evidence 
during  the  Boxer  outbreak,  and  the  way  in  which 
native  friends  risked  even  life  itself  in  the  effort  to 
help  the  hunted  missionaries  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  those  who  survived  that  ^Tleign  of  Terror." 

They  are  a  great  people.  Faithful,  grateful, 
peace-loving,  filial,  patient,  religious,  plodding, 
teachable  and  industrious;  it  is  impossible  to  know 
them,  or  at  any  rate  to  know  their  better  side,  and 
not  to  love  them.    And  there  is  no  reason  whatever 


42  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

why  they  should  not  become  a  much  greater  people 
than  they  are  to-day.  They  have  come  to  a  turn  of 
the  tide  in  the  affairs  of  their  country  which,  taken 
at  the  flood,  may  well  lead  on  to  glory. 

China  is  like  an  ethnic  flower-bud;  its  fragrance  is 
undeveloped;  its  beauty  is  hidden,  and  perhaps  lies 
chiefly  in  promise;  but  God  can  surely  cause  it  to 
blossom  forth. 

Sir  Kobert  Hart,  the  greatest  Western  diplomat  in 
China,  tells  us  that  the  hope  of  the  country  lies  in  the 
rapid  spread  of  Christianity,  which  he  regards  as 
"improbable  but  not  impossible."  There  needs  to  be, 
he  says,  a  buffer  community  between  the  con- 
servatism of  Confucian  China  and  the  progressive 
civilization  of  the  West,  if  the  horrors  of  1900  are 
not  to  be  repeated. 

What  Sir  Kobert  Hart  hopes  for  so  vaguely  is,  in 
fact,  steadily  being  brought  about.  The  annual  in- 
crease of  the  Protestant  churches  in  China  is  ten 
thousand  communicants,  and  the  annual  increase  is 
annually  increasing.  The  total  membership  of  the 
churches  has  doubled  every  eight  years  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

If  this  means  that  God  is  working  mightily  in 
China,  that  He  has  great  pui-poses  for  her  future, 
which  are  already  in  operation,  there  is  hope  for  that 
distracted  land. 

If  the  churches  at  home  realize  their  opportunity, 
and  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  hundreds,  nay 
thousands  of  young  men  and  women  asking  to  give 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    CHINA.  43 

their  lives  to  such  work  as  this;  if,  at  this  crisis,  the 
native  Christians  and  the  foreign  workers  are  ear- 
nestly upheld  in  prayer  by  Christendom,  there  is 
hope  for  China. 

Had  there  been  ten  righteous  men  in  Sodom  the 
city  would  not  have  perished.  There  are  more  than 
ten  times  ten  thousand  believers  in  China.  May  we 
not  pray  God  to  spare  her?  Must  we  not  believe, 
doing  all  we  can  ourselves  to  help,  that  God  will  deal 
with  her  in  mercy  ? 

If  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Truth  in  China  be  its 
one  only  hope,  shall  we  not,  by  faith  and  more  de- 
termined effort  and  through  the  mighty  power  of 
God,  bring  this  to  pass  ? 


CHAPTEK  11. 


AN  EFFOET  TO  MEET  THE  NEED. 

Forty  years  ago  the  entire  missionary  enterprise 
was  still  in  its  infancy.  Each  of  the  leading  de- 
nominations had,  as  in  duty  bound,  its  mission  to  the 
heathen,  but  the  work  was  small.  Those  were  the 
early  days  of  foreign  missions,  for  till  recently  "Go 
ye  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature"  had 
been  for  many  centuries,  with  rare  exceptions,  an 
ignored  command.  Is  it  not,  to  many,  a  forgotten 
duty  even  now?  Still,  a  beginning  has  been  made, 
and  a  good  one. 

The  vast,  the  continental  area  of  China,  however, 
was  largely  neglected.  In  that  greatest  of  un- 
evangelized  countries,  missionaries  were  stationed  in 
some  half-dozen  treaty  ports  along  the  coast,  and  at 
Han-kow,  the  Chicago  of  the  Orient.  Inland  China 
was  not  only  unreached,  but  by  competent  judges  de- 
clared unreachable.  It  was  closed,  barred  and  sealed 
against  the  heralds  of  the  Cross. 

There  was  one,  however,  to  whom  a  country  closed 
against  God,  against  His  revealed  will,  was  not  only 
theoretically,  but  practically,  beyond  belief.  "I  will 
give  thee  the  heathen — ^the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  thy  possession,"  said  God.  "To  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth"  commanded  Jesus,  doubt- 

44 


AN  EFFORT  TO  MEET  THE  NEED.        45 

less  with  that  assurance  in  mind.  And  what  God 
promises  comes  to  pass;  what  the  Captain  of  the 
Lord's  host  commands  His  soldiers  they  can  do,  for 
He  leads  them  Himself,  and  leads  always  to  victory  I 

So  Hudson  Taylor  pondered  and  prayed,  and  was 
persuaded  "We  can  do  if — "Let  us  do  it,  in  the 
name  and  in  the  power  of  God." 

Thus,  since  "all  things  are  possible  to  him  that  be- 
lieveth,"  a  new  mission  was  started  to  the  new  field 
of  inland  China.  And  it  had  to  be  run  on  new  lines, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  avoid  the  risk  of  conflicting  with 
existing  work. 

This  was  the  China  Inland  Mission.  It  has  been 
called  by  some  a  "faith  mission."  The  term  is  un- 
fortunate, and  is  one  we  regret,  for  it  is  invidious. 
All  missions  are  faith  missions  and  all  missionaries 
are  faith  missionaries,  or  they  would  stay  at  home. 
It  costs  more  than  many  realize  to  live  and  work  in 
a  heathen  land,  as  every  missionary  knows.  The 
special  feature  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  referred 
to  is  that  it  does  not  take  collections  or  make  in 
public  or  in  private  direct  appeals  for  money.  It 
simply  trusts  God  to  provide,  through  His  servants, 
what  He  sees  is  needed  to  carry  on  His  work. 

And  how  has  that  plan  worked  ?  God  has  provided 
the  funds,  and  provided  royally.  Who  could  suppose 
it  would  be  otherwise  ?  The  work  has  been  econom- 
ically conducted,  it  is  true;  the  money  sent  in  has 
been  made  to  go  as  far  as  it  could  without  loss  of 
effectiveness;  but  the  point  is — the  money  has  come, 


46  THESE    FORTY   YEARS. 

and  has  always  come  in  time.  God  has  been  asked 
for  it  and  He  has  inclined  His  servants  to  give,  large 
gifts  and  small,  mostly  the  latter;  widows'  mites  and 
children's,  often  in  postage  stamps;  and  wealthy 
donors'  checks — month  by  month  they  have  been 
coming  in,  all  these  years.  Xever  a  debt  has  been  in- 
curred, never  a  need  has  been  unmet,  never  a  suitable 
worker  has  been  refused,  never  a  field  abandoned, 
never  an  invalid  worker  unable  to  go  home  for  lack 
of  funds.  The  experience  of  the  China  Inland  Mis- 
sion all  these  years  may  be  summed  up  in  a  word: 
•'He  is  faithful  that  promised." 

As  to  the  workers,  they  get  no  stipulated  salary,  as 
we  have  seen;  they  are  promised  nothing,  not  even 
food.  They  go  out  in  daily  dependence  on  God  to 
supply  their  needs  and,  of  course,  their  every  need 
is  met. 

The  missionaries  wear  the  Chinese  dress.  "All 
things  to  all  men"  is  their  motto  in  this  and  other 
non-essentials.  ^'Let  us  become  Chinese,"  they  say, 
''to  the  Chinese,  that  we  may  Avin  the  more." 

They  live  in  native  houses,  many  eat  the  native 
food,  and  all  do  what  they  can  to  get  7iear  tlie  people, 
that  they  may  win  them  to  the  Master.  ''Living 
epistles  known  and  read  of  all  men,"  they  seek  to  be 
known  and  seen,  to  be  accessible  and  understandable 
to  all. 

Indemnification  for  losses  is  sometimes  offered  by 
the  authorities,  but  it  is  a  rule  of  the  Mission  never 
to  demand  it.     "We  seek  not  yours  but  you,"  is  its 


AN  EFFORT  TO  MEET  THE  NEED.        47 

attitude  in  all  such  matters.  Moreover,  "Resist  not 
evil"  is  the  law  of  the  Kingdom,  an  explicit  command 
to  which  God  of  course  expects  obedience. 

To  the  rulers,  the  mandarins  and  the  recognized 
leaders  among  the  scholarly  classes — the  "local 
gentry,"  courteous  deference  is  shown.  "Honor  to 
whom  honor  is  due." 

And  how  do  these  principles  answer  ?  Just  as  one 
would  expect.  Inland  China  has  been  opened  up,  in 
the  first  instance  largely  through  the  members  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission.  Laborious  itinerations,  total- 
ing many  tens  of  thousands  of  miles,  have  been  made, 
reaching  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  empire,  includ- 
ing Mongolia,  Turkestan  and  the  lofty  plateaux  of 
Thibet.  And,  step  by  step,  more  than  three  hundred 
stations  and  out-stations  have  been  opened;  to  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  the  Gospel  has  been  preached, 
with  the  happiest  result  in  multitudes  of  cases. 
Wherever  the  work  has  been  established  neighbors 
have  become  friendly,  and  most  friendly  just  where 
these  methods  have  been  most  enthusiastically  car- 
ried out. 


CHAPTEK    III. 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  WORK. 

In  the  year  1860,  the  Eev.  J.  Hudson  Taylor  was 
invalided  home  from  China.  He  had  gone  out  in  '63, 
had  learned  the  language,  had  gained  experience 
working  with  older  missionaries,  had  taken  charge  of 
a  hospital,  had  become  a  Chinaman  to  the  Chinese 
and  had  gathered  a  Church.  In  other  words,  he  had 
gone  through  his  missionary  apprenticeship;  but  now 
his  health  was  so  completely  wrecked  that  he  would 
never  be  able  to  return,  the  doctors  told  him. 

He  was  a  full-fledged  missionary.  In  China  he  had 
lived  right  among  the  people  and  had  itinerated  as 
widely  as  circumstances  would  then  permit.  He  was 
familiar  with  the  busy  life  of  their  great  crowded 
cities  and  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  simpler  rural 
population.  To  him  "the  millions  of  China"  was  not  a 
mere  expression,  but  represented  a  concrete  fact  with 
which  he  was  in  some  degree  familiar. 

More  than  this,  he  knew  where  they  were  morally 
and  spiritually.  The  awful  wickedness,  the  deplor- 
able ignorance  of  spiritual  and  energizing  Truth,  the 
sufferings  of  the  women,  the  miseries  of  the  children, 
especially  of  the  girls,  and  the  hard-hearted  selfish- 
ness of  all,  with   all  the  unhappiness   and  sorrow 

48 


THE    INCEPTION   OF   THE   WOKK.  49 

which  spring  from  such  a  state  of  things,  these  were 
living  and  terrible  facts  to  his  mind.  Had  not  God 
some  pity?  Had  He  not  some  plan  for  their  up- 
lifting? 

Yes,  verily!  Had  not  God  commanded  that  His 
Gospel  should  be  preached  to  them  with  all  its  en- 
lightening, emancipating  power?  Surely  it  was  the 
duty  of  God^s  people  to  do  their  part  to  bring  light 
and  liberty  to  this  sordid  and  suffering  nation. 

While  at  home  from  China  in  the  early  sixties,  Mr. 
Taylor,  unable  to  work  in  China,  determined  at  least 
to  work  for  China.  And  this  he  did  in  several  ways : 
By  making  known  its  needs,  in  meetings  and  through 
the  press;  by  revising  the  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  in  the  vernacular  of  Mng-po,  an  im- 
portant dialect;  but  he  believed  that  the  most  im- 
portant work  he  could  do  was  by  prayer,  and 
he  prayed  without  ceasing. 

The  trouble  was,  the  more  he  prayed  the  heavier 
grew  the  load  upon  his  heart.  The  awful  condition 
in  time  and  for  eternity  of  those  Christless  multi- 
tudes, their  miseries  now  and  their  hopelessness 
hereafter,  became,  like  Pilgrim's  burden,  more  than 
he  could  bear.  Even  when  he  had  been  five  years  at 
home,  and  had  finished  the  medical  curriculum  which 
had  been  broken  off  when  he  first  sailed  for  China, 
and  had  held  many  missionary  meetings  in  various 
parts  of  the  British  Isles,  as  well  as  doing  not  a  little 
literary  work  for  China,  even  then,  when  his  health 
was  somewhat  reestablished,  it  broke  down  afresh 


50  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

from  this  burden  on  his  soul.  Under  medical  advice 
he  went  to  the  seaside,  but  even  change  and  rest 
could  not  help  him  much,  unless  this  burden  could  be 
lifted.  To  make  matters  worse  the  conviction  was 
dawning  on  him  that  if  the  existing  missionary 
1-odies  could  not  undertake  work  toward  the 
evangelization  of  the  great  interior  of  China,  he  must. 
He  had  already  been  to  see  the  secretaries  of  the 
principal  English  Missionary  Boards.  Some  had 
work  that  so  urgently  needed  reenforcing  that  their 
new  missionaries  must  go  to  old  fields;  others  were 
already  using  all  the  funds  that  were  coming  to  their 
hands;  others  said,  and  said  truly,  "The  country  is 
not  open,"  adding,  "How  can  we  send  missionaries  to 
inland  China?''  In  every  case  he  came  away  with  a 
heavy  heart. 

And  now  God  seemed  to  be  saying  to  him,  "This 
need  is  laid  on  you;  you  have  been  there;  you  see  it 
more  clearly  than  most;  why  not  ask  the  Lord  for 
laborers  to  go  with  you  to  the  interior?" 

From  this  thought  Mr.  Taylor  shrank  back,  Avith  a 
very  keen  perception  of  the  gravity  of  the  undertak- 
ing. The  closed  door  did  not  deter  him  because  God 
could  open  that,  and  doubtless  would,  in  answer  to 
prayer,  when  His  servants  went  out  in  obedience  to 
His  will.  For  his  own  support  and  his  family's  he  had 
no  concern;  as  to  their  needs  when  away  in  China,  he 
was  perfectly  prepared  to  trust  God  for  everything. 
"Your  Father  knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  these 
things"  was  sufficient  for  him.    But  the  magnitude  of 


THE    INCEPTION    OF    THE    WORK.  51 

the  task,  the  difficulties  of  the  climate,  the  obstacles 
to  be  overcome,  and  above  all  the  spiritual  deadness 
which  assails  missionaries  living  in  the  midst  of  the 
heathen,  seemed  overwhelmingly  serious  to  Mr. 
Taylor  as  he  faced  the  proposition. 

However,  he  could  get  no  relief.  The  conviction 
deepened  that  this  was  God's  work  for  him.  And 
finally,  in  a  lonely  spot  on  the  seashore  near 
Brighton,  one  bright  summer  morning,  the  struggle 
ended.  On  his  knees  before  God  he  said,  "I  will  obey 
Thee.''  And  immediately  the  load  was  lifted.  But 
he  added,  ^*Lord,  bear  Thou  all  the  responsibility  in- 
volved by  obedience  to  Thy  command."  ^'Seek  ye 
first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and 
all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you,"  seemed  ex- 
actly to  meet  the  case.  Might  not  the  words  be  un- 
derstood to  apply  to  other  and  deeper  needs  than 
food  and  clothing,  of  which  the  Father  knows  full 
well  ?  Mr.  Taylor  immediately  began  to  pray  for  fel- 
low-workers to  go  two  and  two  to  the  eleven  un- 
reached provinces  of  inland  China  and  to  Mongolia. 
There  and  then  he  entered  a  memorandum  in  the 
Bible  in  his  hand: 

"Prayed   for  twenty-four  willing,  skillful  laborers,  at 
Brighton,  June  25th,  1865." 

This  was  the  seed  purpose  from  which  sprang  the 
China  Inland  Mission.  Before  tracing  its  growth 
and  development  it  may  perhaps  be  well  to  go  back 
for  a  few  minutes  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  God 


62  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

prepared  an  instrument  for  tlie  work  He  was  about 
to  do.* 


♦Those  familiar  with  the  early  life  of  Mr.  Taylor  will 
perhaps  pass  over  the  next  three  chapters.  They  give,  in  a 
condensed  form,  some  of  the  experiences  by  which  he  was 
trained  and  fitted  for  his  life-work — founding  and  directing 
the  China  Inland  Mission. 


M 


H 


REV.  J.  HUDSON  TAYLOR. 


CHAP  TEE    IV. 


THE  MAN  FOE  THE  WOEK. 

Befoee  Mr.  Taylor  was  born  his  parents  prayed 
that  if  God  ever  gave  them  a  son  lie  might  become  a 
missionary  to  China.  They  were  a  north-country 
English  family,  living  in  Bamsley,  Yorkshire.  The 
father  was  a  chemist,  a  man  of  exceptional  intelli- 
gence and  thonghtfulness  and  a  local  preacher 
amongst  the  Methodists  of  power  and  general  ac- 
ceptance. The  mother  was  a  qniet  and  deeply  spirit- 
ual woman.  Both  parents  were  profoundly  impressed 
with  the  reality  of  God  and  of  spiritual  things,  and  of 
the  reasonableness  of  trusting  God  in  everything  and 
of  literally  obeying  His  commands.  Any  other 
course  seemed  not  only  wrong  but  folly. 

When  their  first-born  child  was  given  they  hoped 
the  little  son  would  prove  to  be  the  answer  to  their 
prayers;  and  many  were  the  petitions  that  went  up 
for  the  infant  boy.  He  grew,  however,  into  such  a 
delicate  lad  that  he  could  seldom  stay  an  entire  week 
at  school,  and  reluctantly  the  father  and  mother 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  for  some  reason  or  other 
their  ardent  desire  was  not  to  be  granted.  The  boy 
always  worked  with  a  will  at  his  lessons,  but  health 
constantly  gave  way  under  the  strain  of  ordinary 

53 


54  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

school  duties,  attacked  vdth  the  earnestness  that 
characterized  everything  he  did.  But,  in  spite  of 
many  prayers  and  the  helpful  training  of  that  godly 
home,  young  Hudson  Taylor  came  nearly  to  the  end 
of  his  school-boy  days  without  knowing  the  supreme 
joy  of  conversion.  He  tried  repeatedly  to  be  a 
Christian,  but  had  always  failed.  He  did  not  realize 
that  it  was  because  he  had  not  begun  at  the  be- 
ginning. 

About  this  time  he  came  among  skeptical  com- 
panions and  was  not  unaffected  by  their  way  of  think- 
ing and  speaking,  in  which  he  was  confirmed  by  the 
inconsistencies  of  many  of  the  Christians  around  him. 
^'If  I  were  a  Christian,''  he  used  to  say  to  himself,  ^'I 
would  be  one  in  something  more  than  name.  If  it 
were  possible  for  me  to  believe  in  the  God  of  the 
Bible  I  would  believe  in  Him  with  all  my  heart,  and 
would  put  Him  to  the  test,  taking  His  promises  to 
mean  just  what  they  say,  and  if  they  proved  to  be 
untrustworthy,  if  they  would  not  stand  the  test,  I 
would  throw  it  up  altogether."  It  may  be  that  the 
musings  of  those  dark  days  have  tended  to  strengthen 
the  supreme  conviction  which  has  characterized  Mr. 
Taylor's  life:  That  God  may  be  utterly  depended  on 
for  everything  and  that  His  promises  were  always  in- 
tended to  be  literally  fulfilled  in  every  case. 

It  was  while  still  in  this  frame  of  mind  that,  one 
half-holiday,  he  picked  up  a  tract  in  his  father's 
library,  saying  to  himself,  '^There  will  doubtless  be 
a  story  in  the  first  part  of  this  and  a  sermon  at  the 


THE    MAN    FOR    THE    WORK.  65 

end.  I  will  read  the  story  and  leave  the  moral  for 
those  Avho  like  that  sort  of  thing."  So  he  .took  the 
booklet  to  an  empty  barn  and  stretched  himself  at 
length  to  enjoy  and  while  away  the  time.  As  he  read 
the  story,  certain  words  in  it  struck  him  as  re- 
markable. 

That  same  afternoon  his  mother,  who  was  away 
from  home  at  some  little  distance  on  a  visit,  finding 
herself  free  from  her  ordinary  domestic  duties,  seized 
the  opportunity  for  more  uninterrupted  waiting  upon 
God  than  usual  about  the  conversion  of  her  boy.  She 
WTBstled  with  God  for  him  hour  after  hour  until  at 
last  a  great  light  flooded  her  heart  and  she  could 
pray  no  longer,  for  she  knew  that  God  had  granted 
her  petition. 

The  words  that  riveted  young  Hudson  Taylor's  at- 
tention were,  ''The  finished  work  of  Christ." 
"Finished,"  he  thought,  "then  my  efforts  to  make 
myself  a  Christian  were  all  beginning  in  the  middle ! 
If  the  work  is  finished  there  is  nothing  left  for  me  to 
do  but  to  joyfully  accept  Him  as  my  Saviour  and  to 
thank  Him  for  His  great  sacrifice  and  sufferings  for 
me."  He  fell  on  his  knees  and  there  and  then  gave 
himself  to  the  Lord  and  claimed  Christ  as  his 
Saviour  and  his  God. 

He  had  often  dreaded  conversion  as  "becoming  se- 
rious," and  shrank  from  the  thought  of  it  accord- 
ingly. He  found,  however,  that  it  was  becoming 
happy;  he  had  never  had  his  heart  so  full  of  joy  and 
happiness  before ! 


56  THESE   FORTY   YEAfiS. 

When  the  dear  mother  came  home  a  few  days  later 
he  met  her  with  a  glowing  face.  ^T.  have  good  news 
to  tell  yon,  mother."  "You  need  not  tell  me,  my 
boy,"  she  said,  "I  have  been  praising  God  for  that 
news  for  days." 

"How  did  you  know;  did  anyone  tell  you?" 

"I  prayed  for  you  until  I  knew  in  my  own  heart 
that  God  had  granted  my  request  and  had  drawn  you 
to  Himself." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  Mr.  Taylor  began  early  to 
believe  in  the  power  of  prayer  ? 


CHAPTEK    Y. 


PURPOSE  AND  PREPAEATION. 

A  FEW  montlis  later  a  transaction  took  place  that 
proved  of  lasting  consequence.  Having  a  leisure 
afternoon  the  boy  determined  to  spend  it  in  the  most 
delightful  way  he  could  think  of,  the  most  profitable 
way  as  well.  Alone,  in  communion  with  God,  he  felt 
deeply  conscious  of  the  love  of  God  as  manifested  by 
His  great  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  and  by  His  deal- 
ings with  himself  at  a  time  when  he  had  given  up  all 
hope  of  being  saved.  As  he  pondered  on  these  things 
he  became  so  full  of  glad  thankfulness  and  peace  that 
he  asked  God  to  graciously  give  him  some  oppor- 
tunity of  showing  his  gratitude,  some  service,  how- 
ever insignificant  or  however  trying,  that  would  en- 
able him  to  show  how  profoundly  he  appreciated  the 
loving  kindness  of  the  Lord. 

He  arose  from  his  knees  that  afternoon  with  a  very 
definite  consciousness  that  God  had  accepted  the 
offer,  but  for  what  service  he  could  not  tell.  It  was 
not  until  some  months  later  that  the  conviction  was 
borne  in  upon  him  that  God  wished  him  to  go  to 
China.  Of  this  wish  his  parents  knew  nothing.  With 
China  in  view  he  tried  to  obtain  books  about  the 
country  and  people,  but  experienced  considerable 

57 


58  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

difficulty.  At  that  time  there  were  very  few  books  to 
be  had,  and  those  few  were  not  easily  accessible,  at 
any  rate  to  him.  He  obtained,  however,  a  book  by 
Medhurst  on  China,  and  from  that  he  learned, 
amongst  other  things,  that  medical  knowledge  would 
be  invaluable  in  winning  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
Then  and  there  he  determined  to  take  a  thorough 
medical  curriculum. 

Now,  of  course,  it  became  necessary  to  consult  his 
parents.  When  they  first  heard  of  the  wish  to  go  to 
China  they  said  nothing  of  their  own  prayers  and 
longings  all  these  years  but  simply  encouraged  him 
to  wait  on  God.  If  God  were  calling  him  to  China 
He  would  open  up  the  way  and  make  all  plain  in  due 
season,  but  it  would  be  wise,  lest  this  should  be 
merely  his  own  personal  inclination,  to  be  entirely 
willing  to  serve  God  either  there  or  at  home  or  any- 
where else.  And  Mr.  Taylor  has  often  felt  the  ms- 
dom  of  the  counsel.  When  he  did  go,  it  was  with  the 
profound  conviction  that  God,  Himself,  had  definitely 
called  him  to  a  definite  work  in  China.  His  faith, 
therefore,  Avas  specific  and  certain,  and  no  questions 
arose  later  on  to  trouble  him  as  to  the  wisdom  or 
Tightness  of  his  choice. 

After  some  preliminary  studies  at  home,  it  was  de- 
cided that  he  should  commence  his  medical  studies 
at  Hull.  There,  under  one  of  the  lecturers  at  the 
Hull  School  of  Medicine,  he  worked  at  Materia 
Medica,  Pharmacy  and  other  branches  for  a  year  or 
two.     Both  previously  at  home  and  now  again  here 


PURPOSE    AND    PREPARATION.  69 

he  determined  to  toughen  himself  as  much  as  possible 
for  the  life  of  hardship  which  would  probably  be  his 
in  China,  which  was  then  to  so  large  an  extent  a 
closed  country  and  therefore  necessarily  a  difficult 
field  of  service.  He  took  more  regular  exercise,  did 
without  his  soft  bedding,  lived  on  the  simplest  and 
most  inexpensive  diet;  thus  not  only  accustoming 
himself  to  experiences  that  might  be  normal  in  the 
East  but  also  saving  no  little  part  of  his  slender  in- 
come for  use  in  the  Lord's  work,  into  which  in  his 
new"  surroundings  he  at  once  laimched  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  his  enthusiastic  nature. 

It  must  have  been  a  touching  sight  to  the  only  One 
who  witnessed  it,  to  see  the  young  medical  student, 
about  this  time,  looking  through  his  little  library  and 
going  over  his  slender  stock  of  clothes  to  see  what  he 
could  do  without,  that  he  might  have  nothing  in  his 
possession  that  could  be  better  used  in  other  ways. 
Is  not  a  man's  secret  life,  under  the  eye  of  God  alone, 
the  best  test  of  what  he  is  ? 

Here  in  Hull  Mr.  Taylor  made  a  determination 
which  he  thought  would  help  in  preparing  for  the 
future.  He  decided  never  to  ask  for  his  doctor's  as- 
sistant salary  when  it  fell  due,  however  much  he 
might  need  it;  for  he  expected,  out  in  China,  to  be 
entirely  dependent  upon  God,  and  if  he  could  not 
move  a  man  through  God  before  he  went,  how  could 
he  hope  to  live  by  faith  in  a  distant  land.  More  than 
once  he  was  in  difficulties  through  this  decision — on 
one  occasion  in  very  serious  difficulty — but  in  each 


60  THESE   FOKTY   YEAKS. 

case  the  matter  of  salary  was  remarkably  brouglit  to 
the  doctor's  mind,  and  so  the  need  was  met  in  answer 
to  prayer,  and  not  only  was  his  faith  in  God 
strengthened  but  he  was  encouraged  to  hope  that 
God  Who  heard  him  in  this  lesser  matter  at  home 
would  not  fail  him  in  the  greater  need  abroad. 

One  Sunday,  after  morning  service  and  a  good 
time  of  Bible  study  and  prayer,  he  set  out  as  usual, 
his  heart  brimming  over  with  joy  and  gladness,  to  an 
afternoon  and  evening  of  Gospel  work  in  tramps' 
lodging-houses  and  wherever  else  he  could  get  a 
hearing.  After  his  last  service  that  evening  was 
closed,  just  as  with  glad  thankfulness  for  good  op- 
portunities and  a  ready  hearing  he  was  about  to  turn 
homeward,  a  poor  man  came  up  to  him  and  said,  "I 
wish,  sir,  you  would  come  and  pray  with  my  wife, 
who  I  am  afraid  is  dying." 

Gladly,  of  course,  Mr.  Taylor  went.  Noticing  from 
the  man's  brogue  that  he  was  Irish,  and  therefore 
probably  a  Catholic,  "Why  did  you  not  go  to  a 
priest  ?"  he  asked. 

"I  did,  sir;  but  he  would  not  come  for  less  than 
eighteen  pence,  and  we  have  no  money  for  food,  let 
alone  money  for  him !" 

On  hearing  what  a  deplorable  condition  of  want 
and  destitution  the  family  were  in,  Mr.  Taylor  asked 
why  the  man  had  not  applied  for  relief  to  the  proper 
authorities,  especially  as  his  wife  was  the  mother  of  a 
little  one  only  thirty-six  hours  old. 

'T  did,  sir,"  he  said,  "and  they  told  me  to  come 


PURPOSE    AND    PEEPAEATION.  61 

again  to-morrow  morning  at  eleven  o'clock,  but  I  am 
afraid  my  poor  wife  will  hardly  live  so  long." 

Mr.  Taylor's  supplies  had  run  so  low  that  he  had 
nothing  left  but  a  single  half-crown  (sixty  cents),  and 
he  could  not  help  thinking  as  he  heard  the  sad  story, 
"How  I  wish  I  had  it  in  change !  If  I  had  only  two 
shillings  and  a  sixpence,  how  gladly  would  I  give 
them  a  shilling." 

When  he  came  to  the  pitiful  home  he  found  it  all 
just  as  the  man  had  described.  A  miserable  little  ill- 
furnished  upper  room,  the  poor  mother  lying  ex- 
hausted on  the  bed  and  four  or  five  little  children 
huddled  here  and  there  about  the  room,  whose 
sunken  cheeks  and  hollow  temples  told  an  unmistak- 
able story  of  long  want  and  slow  starvation. 

"If  only  I  had  change,"  he  thought  again,  "how 
gladly  would  I  give  them  a  shilling  and  sixpence,  to 
tide  them  over  till  to-morrow." 

And  then  as  he  stood  there  he  began  to  talk  to  the 
poor  woman,  so  near  her  end,  about  the  loving 
Father  who  knows  and  sympathizes  with  all  the 
sufferings  of  His  creatures. 

"You  hypocrite!"  a  voice  seemed  to  say  within 
him,  "How  dare  you  call  Him  Father  and  say  He 
will  provide  for  their  needs  when  you  are  able  to  do 
so  yourself,  but  are  unwilling  to  trust  God  without  a 
shilling  in  your  pocket  ?"  And  the  words  he  was  try- 
ing to  say  stuck  in  his  throat. 

Mr.  Taylor  bethought  him  of  another  resource. 
He  never  had  any  trouble  or  difficulty  in  prayer.  But 


62  THESE   FOETY   YEARS. 

as  he  began  to  pray,  "Our  Father,  Which  art  in 
Heaven/'  again  he  nearly  choked.  "How  dare  you 
call  Him  your  Father  when  you  are  not  ready  to 
trust  Him  yourself!" 

SomehoAv  or  other,  he  never  knew  how,  he 
managed  to  struggle  through  a  fomi  of  prayer.  As 
he  rose  from  his  knees,  the  poor  man  said,  "You  see, 
sir,  what  a  bad  case  we  are  in.  If  you  can  help  us, 
for  God's  sake  do  !" 

"Give  to  him  that  asketh  of  thee,"  flashed  into  Mr. 
Taylor's  mind,  and  instantly  he  knew  that  it  was  the 
word  of  God  to  him  then.  Drawing  the  coin  from  his 
pocket  he  handed  it  to  the  man,  saying,  "It  may  seem 
a  little  thing  for  me  to  help  you,  who  am  so  much 
better  off  than  you  are,  but  this  is  all  the  money  I 
have  in  the  world.  I  know,  however,  that  our 
Father  in  heaven  will  supply  my  need  in  some  way 
or  other."  And  then  his  mouth  was  opened  and  he 
was  able  to  speak  with  freedom  and  gladness  of  the 
love  and  the  goodness  of  God. 

The  poor  woman's  life  was  saved,  and  so  Mr.  Tay- 
lor has  often  felt  was  his.  To  trust  God  and  God 
only — ^with  no  one  but  God  to  look  to — was  just  the 
lesson  he  needed  to  learn. 

On  the  way  home  Mr.  Taylor  says  he  remembers 
his  heart  was  as  light  as  his  pocket.  When  rather 
late  he  reached  his  lodgings  he  kneeled  down  and 
said,  "Thou  hast  said,  ^He  that  hath  pity  upon  the 
poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord;  and  that  which  he  hath 
given  will  He  pay  him  again;'  I  cannot  afford  to 


PURPOSE    AND    PREPARATION.  63 

make  a  long  loan  of  it,  Lord,  or  I  shall  have  nothing 
for  dinner  to-morrow." 

There  was  water-gruel  waiting  for  his  supper  and 
enough  oatmeal  to  suffice  for  breakfast,  but  that  was 
all.  He  felt,  however,  with  a  very  happy  heart,  that 
the  blessing  of  God  was  upon  him. 

Next  morning  as  he  was  taking  his  frugal  meal 
the  postman  came,  bringing  an  unexpected  letter. 
The  handwriting  he  did  not  know,  and  when  he 
opened  the  cover  all  he  saw  was  a  pair  of  gloves.  "A 
strange  gift,  indeed,"  he  thought,  ^^for  one  in  my 
circumstances !"  As  he  drew  them  out,  however,  a 
ten-shilling  piece  dropped  to  the  floor.  Picking  it  up, 
he  said  to  himself,  ^Traise  the  Lord !  Four  hundred 
per  cent,  for  twelve  hours'  investment;  that  is  good 
interest.  How  glad  the  merchants  of  Hull  would  be 
if  they  could  lend  their  money  at  such  a  rate  !"  Then 
and  there  he  determined  that  a  bank  that  paid  so 
well,  and  that  coiild  not  break,  should  have  all  his 
savings.     And  he  has  never  regretted  the  decision. 

Many  details  must  of  course  be  omitted  in  this  out- 
line sketch  that  are  told  at  length  in  the  "Retrospect," 
Mr.  Taylor's  own  account  of  his  early  life  and  train- 
ing for  the  work  that  lay  ahead. 

After  this  preparatory  work  at  Hull  the  young 
student  came  up  to  London  to  take  the  regular  course 
of  medical  study  at  the  London  Hospital. 

The  life  into  which  he  was  then  plunged  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  picture  now.  Even  in  recent  times 
medical  students  have  had  the  reputation  of  being 


64  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

rather  rowdy,  but  the  medical  student  of  fifty  years 
ago  is  happily  almost  an  extinct  genus  now.  Drink- 
ing and  gambling  and  other  vices  and  a  general 
rowdyism  were  the  order  of  the  day  out  of  lecture 
hours.  It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  a  dozen 
students,  not  content  with  an  evening  at  a  West  End 
theatre,  in  a  hilarious  condition  to  link  arms  and 
march  down  the  middle  of  the  main  thoroughfares, 
rollicking,  shouting,  and  singing  at  the  top  of  their 
voices,  and  clearing  all  before  them  that  came  in 
the  way. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  surroundings  as  these 
that  the  young  student  came  with  scarcely,  so  far 
as  he  knew,  a  Christian  student  to  stand  by  him. 
Surely  God  had  him  in  training  to  stand  alone ! 

Here  in  London  Mr.  Taylor  sought  and  found  an 
opportunity  of  testing  his  faith  in  God  to  meet  his 
daily  needs.  His  father,  deeply  interested,  of  course, 
in  his  possible  future,  had  offered  to  meet  his  ex- 
penses, which,  however,  would  have  entailed  a  good 
deal  of  sacrifice  on  account  of  business  reverses.  The 
Chinese  Evangelization  Society,  in  connection  wdth 
which  he  expected  to  go  out,  had  also  suggested  that 
they  should  meet  his  expenses  while  carrying  on  his 
medical  education.  Before  replying  to  either  of  these 
offers  Mr.  Taylor  brought  the  matter  before  God  in 
prayer  for  some  days.  He  then  felt  that  it  would  be 
wise  to  decline  both  offers.  His  parents,  who  already 
knew  of  the  offer  from  the  Society,  would  not  be  in 
any  anxiety  about  the  supply  of  his  needs,  while 


PURPOSE   AND   PREPARATION.  65 

at  the  same  time  the  Society,  knowing  of  his  father's 
offer,  would  be  perfectly  satisfied  if  he  declined 
theirs,  and  by  this  means  he  would  be  enabled  to 
commence  a  very  practical  life  of  faith  before  he 
went  out  to  the  field  of  his  life  work. 

In  many  remarkable  ways  his  needa  were  met.  It 
was  not  for  lack  of  supplies,  but  in  order  to  have 
as  much  as  possible  to  give  away  or  to  spend  in  the 
Lord's  work,  that  he  economized  as  much  as  he  could. 
An  inexpensive  room,  both  bedroom  and  study,  four 
miles  from  the  hospital,  was  shared  with  a  cousin; 
and  this  involved  an  eight  mile  walk  each  day,  which 
was  not  without  its  advantages  from  the  point  of 
view  of  health  and  hardihood.  For  food,  a  four-cent 
loaf,  bought  on  his  way  home  from  hospital,  was  suffi- 
cient for  supper  and  breakfast,  with  water  to  drink. 
This,  with  occasional  variations,  and  apples  or  other 
fruit  for  lunch  at  noon,  was  his  sole  diet  for  much 
of  the  time  of  his  medical  curriculum. 

It  was  to  this  simple  diet  that  he  owed  his  life  on 
one  occasion.  Having  pricked  his  finger  with  a  needle 
one  evening,  he  forgot  all  about  it  and  was  poisoned 
next  day  while  dissecting,  apparently  from  this 
minute  wound  to  which  he  had  never  given  a  thought. 
Violent  septic  inflammation  set  in  up  his  whole  arm, 
and  for  days  life  hung  trembling  in  the  balance.  The 
prominent  surgeon  from  whom  he  first  sought  advice 
told  him  that  his  life  would  depend  upon  whether 
he  had  been  living  steadily  and  avoiding  beer  and 
rich  foods. 


66  THESE    FORTY   YEAES. 

During  his  slow  convalescence  a  sum  of  money 
unexpectedly  came  into  his  hands,  which  enabled  him 
to  return  to  his  home  in  the  north  of  England  for  a 
much-needed  holiday.  Thus  again,  in  an  unlooked- 
for  way,  the  Lord  supplied  the  need  of  His  servant, 
whose  expectation  was  from  him. 

Shortly  before  the  completion  of  his  medical 
course  an  urgent  opportunity  arose  to  go  out  to  China 
at  once  in  connection  with  the  Chinese  Evangeliza- 
tion Society.  After  earnest  waiting  upon  God  for 
guidance  as  to  whether  he  should  complete  his  studies 
and  take  his  diploma  or  accept  this  opening  and  go 
without  delay,  Mr.  Taylor  felt  perfectly  clear  that 
he  should  accept  and  go. 

It  was  a  long  and  sometimes  eventful  voyage  in 
those  days.  Starting  in  the  autumn  of  1853,  it  was 
nearly  six  months  later  before  their  vessel  arrived 
at  Shanghai. 

By  the  way,  the  ship  was  becalmed  on  one  occasion 
in  the  tropics  and  an  unfavorable  current  began  to 
carry  them  rapidly  toward  an  unfriendly  shore. 
There  was  not  enough  wind  to  move  the  listless  sails, 
and  as  the  long,  hot  afternoon  wore  away  they  drew 
nearer  and  nearer  to  what  they  found  by  the  chart 
to  be  a  cannibal  island.  The  natives,  seeing  the 
straits  they  were  in,  lighted  their  fires  and  began  to 
dance  around  on  the  beach  in  eager  prospect  of  the 
feast  they  expected  so  soon.  On  that  boat  there  were 
but  four  Christians,  the  captain,  the  carpenter,  the 
colored  steward  and  Mr.  Taylor.    Mr.  Taylor  sug- 


PURPOSE    AITD    PREPARATION.  67 

gested  that  each  of  them  should  go  to  his  cabin  and 
wait  on  God  for  a  wind  to  carry  them  away  from 
the  impending  and  horrible  fate.  After  a  short  time 
of  prayer  Mr.  Taylor  felt  that  the  petition  was 
granted,  and  coming  up  on  deck  said  to  the  first  offi- 
cer, who  was  then  in  charge:  ''Won't  you  let  loose 
your  mainsail,  for  a  breeze  is  coming  ?"  With  an  oath 
the  man  replied:  "I  would  rather  see  a  breeze  than 
merely  hear  of  one.'' 

''And  don't  you  see,  away  up  in  the  topsail,  a 
breeze  is  coming?" 

"Oh,  it's  nothing  but  a  cat's-paw,"  the  mate  re- 
plied, as  his  eye  followed  Mr.  Taylor's  upward. 

"Cat's-paw  or  not,  we  might  as  well  take  advantage 
of  what  there  is." 

And  as  the  breeze  continued  to  freshen,  the  offi- 
cer very  gladly  let  out  his  clewed-up  sails,  and  in  a 
short  time  they  w^ere  sailing  away  from  the  disap- 
pointed cannibals  at  a  good  many  knots  an  hour. 

What  w^ere  the  mingled  feelings  of  the  young  mis- 
sionary as  at  last  he  stepped  on  shore  at  Shanghai 
alone  and  without  a  friend  or  acquaintance,  but  in  a 
country  to  which  his  life  was  given,  can  better  be 
imagined  than  described. 


CHAPTEK  YI. 


FORMATIVE   EXPEEIENOE   IN   CHINA. 

It  is  probable  tliat  no  new  missionary  ever  arrives 
in  a  heathen  country  without  having  a  "bad  time.'' 
All  the  old  helps  and  props  are  gone;  the  old  asso- 
ciations are  broken.  Alone  as  never  before  in  his 
life,  the  newcomer  must  get  into  harness.  Alone 
amidst  the  inconceivable  wickedness  of  a  heathen 
people ;  alone  with  them  and  with  God — does  He  not 
seem  at  times  afar  off? — he  has  to  ^ghX  what  are 
often  the  fiercest  battles  of  life  with  the  powers  of 
darkness. 

Climate,  surroundings,  lack  of  sympathy,  loneli- 
ness, everything  seems  against  him.  Health  perhaps 
llags,  and  a  remorseless  adversary,  with  no  sense  of 
honor,  comes  to  him — ^when  he  is  down — to  crush 
out  spirit  and  hope  and  joy  if  he  can. 

"No  missionary,  probably,  even  of  six  months' 
standing,  has  any  lingering  shade  of  doubt  as  to  the 
personality  of  the  Evil  One.  Our  warfare,  Paul  re- 
minds us,  is  against  principalities  and  powers  of  dark- 
ness. And  he  believes  it.  He  has  good  ground  to 
believe  it.  He  has  battled  with  evil  within  him  that 
is  not  himself,  not  even  the  old  worse  self  he  has 
learned  to  conquer  since  he  came  to  know  the  Lord. 

Is  it  not  highly  probable  that  the  great  Enemy 
06 


FORMATIVE    EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  69 

plans  and  carries  out  a  deliberate  assault  on  every 
young  warrior  that  comes  against  his  old  undisputed 
strongholds,  with  the  deliberate  intention  to  cripple 
him  either  in  faith,  in  hope,  or  in  love — to  undo 
him  as  a  missionary  if  he  can?  Ask  them,  you  will 
seldom  or  never  get  "iTo." 

If  he  comes  out  of  the  conflict  unscathed  he  comes 
out  the  stronger.  He  is  purer,  better,  brighter;  gold 
refined  in  the  fire. 

Hudson  Taylor  was  no  exception.  He  had  his  test- 
ing. When  he  landed  he  knew  not  a  soul  in  China. 
But  he  had  three  introductions.  The  first  friend,  the 
chief  hope,  was  dead — died  a  month  or  two  before 
the  young  missionary  arrived  in  Shanghai.  The  sec- 
ond, the  next,  was  at  home  in  America.  The  third, 
an  unpromising  introduction  from  a  casual  acquaint- 
ance, did  help.  Or  the  young  missionary  would  have 
been  badly  off  indeed. 

Civil  war  was  raging,  to  add  to  difficulties.  The 
dollar  was  dear — ^two  and  a  quarter  to  the  English 
sovereign  instead  of  four  or  ^Ye  as  he  expected. 
That  halved  his  income.  Moreover,  lodgings  were 
scarcely  to  be  had  at  any  price,  and  food  was  corre- 
spondingly expensive  from  the  fact  that  the  rebels 
were  in  possession  of  the  native  city  of  Shanghai, 
and  were  being  slowly  starved  out  and  shelled  out 
by  the  imperial  soldiery. 

But  God  did  not  desert  him.  A  fellow  missionary 
very  kindly  shared  with  him  his  home  for  the  first 
few  months.     Then,  to  be  more  among  the  people, 


70  THESE    FOETY    TEARS. 

he  lived  in  a  native  house :  and  though  sometimes 
hungry,  often  sleepless  from  the  danger  of  the  siege, 
and  always  rather  short  of  money — his  salary  was 
only  eighty  pounds — and  suffering  intensely  from  the 
horrors  of  war  all  around,  and  a  great  hunger  of  isola- 
tion within,  he  pulled  through  all  right.  Faithful- 
ness in  the  use  of  the  two  great  energizers,  prayer 
and  Bible  study,  kept  him  going.  He  held  on  to  God, 
and  God  kept  him  true. 

In  a  year  from  the  time  he  landed,  after  minor 
attempts  in  six  months,  Mr.  Taylor  was  preaching 
with  some  degree  of  ease  in  the  mandarin  dialect, 
and  rejoiced  to  find  that  the  people  really  understood 
him.  What  an  Egyptian  puzzle  of  a  language  it  is ! 
Did  anyone  ever  master  its  pei-plexing  idioms,  its 
curious  sounds  and  characters,  without  feeling,  as 
soon  as  he  began  to  feel  his  new  power,  inclined  to 
shout  ? 

He  and  a  fellow-missionary,  however,  had  some 
very  rough  experiences,  and  on  one  occasion  they 
came  near  losing  their  lives  from  some  rough  native 
militiamen  off  duty.  But  God  delivered  them.  They 
had  more  work  to  do  yet. 

Another  time  the  young  missionary  was  preaching 
in  the  open  air.  He  enjoyed  that  day  considerable 
liberty  in  speaking.  His  heart  was  full — full  of  joy 
and  full  of  yearning  love  for  the  dark  souls  that 
faced  him.  One  man,  especially,  right  in  front,  drew 
his  attention,  and  seemed  deeply  interested.  Follow- 
ing a  plan  which  works  very  well  with  a  Chinese 


FORMATIVE    EXPEEIENOE   IN   CHINA.  Tl 

audience,  Mr.  Taylor  addressed  his  remarks  to  this 
one  attentive  hearer,  and  all  the  rest  looked  on  and 
listened.  After  preaching  the  grand  old  Gospel 
story — a  new  story  to  them,  of  course — fully  and 
with  ease  for  some  time  Mr.  Taylor  closed  his  ad- 
dress and  began  at  once  to  engage  in  ordinary  conver- 
sation with  this  man,  asking  first  the  usual  questions 
of  courtesy  as  to  his  name,  his  age,  his  residence,  and 
replying  to  similar  questions  himself.  They  were 
now  "introduced,"  and  began  to  chat  freely.  As  soon 
a?  the  man  seemed  thoroughly  at  home  Mr.  Taylor 
gave  him  an  opportunity  to  ask  questions  in  return. 

"I  have  been  wanting  to  ask  you  a  question  for 
some  time,  foreign  teacher.'' 

How  the  heart  of  the  missionary  leaped  with  hope  ! 
Was  this  poor  idolater  indeed  feeling  after  the  truth, 
if  haply  he  might  find  it?  Had  he  been  really  under- 
standing and  drinking  in  the  good  tidings  of  sal- 
vation ? 

"I  want  to  ask,"  he  said,  "about  this  matter.  I 
notice  that  you  have  buttons  at  the  front  of  your 
coat,  and  corresponding  buttonholes.  I  understand 
their  use.  But  what  are  those  buttons  for  in  the 
middle  of  your  back?" 

Imagine  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Taylor.  The  revul- 
sion from  hope  to  disappointment  was  almost  more 
than  he  could  bear.  "I  must  get  rid  of  this  foreign 
dress  which  attracts  so  much  attention,"  he  said  to 
himself.  He  determined  the  next  time  he  went  on 
a  tour  to  dress  like  the  people. 


Y2  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

He  did,  and  was  profoundly  impressed  by  the 
difference  it  made.  Much  to  his  surprise  and  delight 
he  succeeded  in  renting  premises  on  the  important 
island  of  Tsung-ming,  in  the  main  estuary  of  the 
Yang-tse,  which,  however,  had  to  be  abandoned  later 
on  account  of  the  determined  opposition  of  a  native 
official. 

"Not  long  after  this  he  went  on  an  evangelistic  jour- 
ney with  the  saintly  and  delightfully  companionable 
William  C.  Burns,  than  whom  a  better  associate  for 
a  young  missionary  could  not  be  found.  Hudson 
Taylor  soon  came  to  love  him  as  his  own  soul.  Their 
plan  was  to  work  a  canal-intersected  district  between 
Shanghai  and  Hang-chau  as  thoroughly  as  practicable 
by  boat,  selling  tracts  and  Scriptures  and  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  at  each  place  they  passed.  Before 
long  Bums  began  to  notice  that  he  seemed  to  have 
all  the  bad  times  and  Taylor  all  the  courtesies.  His 
young  friend  was  invited  here  and  there  into  people's 
homes  and  obtained  a  quiet  hearing,  while  he,  older 
and  more  experienced  and  with  a  better  knowledge  of 
the  language,  was  declined  admission  on  account  of 
the  crowds,  and  had  the  noisy  lads  and  the  roughs  to 
deal  with  as  best  he  might. 

Seeing  how  much  better  opportunities  for  work 
Mr.  Taylor  was  having,  after  some  weeks  Mr.  Bums 
also  adopted  the  native  dress,  and  keenly  appreciated 
the  change  it  brought  about  in  the  attitude  of  the 
people.  Shortly  after  this  he  wrote  in  a  letter  to 
his  mother: 


FOEMATIVB   EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  T3 

"Fours  weeks  ago,  on  December  29th 
(1855),  I  put  on  the  Chinese  dress,  which  I 
am  now  wearing.  Mr.  Taylor  had  made 
this  change  a  few  months  before,  and  I 
found  that  he  was  in  consequence  so  much 
less  incommoded  in  preaching,  etc.,  by  the 
crowd,  that  I  concluded  it  was  my  duty  to 
follow  his  example.'' 

They  were  greatly  encouraged  on  this  journey. 
'Not  only  did  they  receive  a  good  hearing  in  many 
places  but  were  daily  refreshed  by  spiritual  inter- 
course. Bums  was  a  man  who  lived  very  near  to 
God.  He  loved  and  was  deeply  taught  in  the  Word, 
and  was  a  man  of  prayer.  This  time  of  fellowship, 
in  service  and  the  things  of  God,  was  one  Mr.  Taylor 
long  looked  back  to  with  pleasure  and  gratitude. 

On  one  occasion  they  met  with  serious  trouble. 
Border  towns  in  China,  between  two  provinces,  are 
often  dangerous  places.  Bad  characters  congregate, 
and  when  "wanted"  in  this  province  flee  over  into 
that,  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  offended  justice 
of  the  peace.  It  was  at  a  place  appropriately  called 
"Black-Town"  that  this  trouble  arose.  Happily,  how- 
ever, the  missionaries  escaped  with  no  more  serious 
consequences  than  a  broken-in  boat  and  a  curtailed 
journey.  Even  so,  it  had  lasted  a  good  many  weeks, 
and  both  were  so  much  encouraged  by  their  experi- 
ences on  that  long  itineration  and  refreshed  by  one 
another's  company,  that  they  proposed  to  start  out 


74  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

again  after  a  few  days'  rest  at  Shanghai,  with  a  fresh 
supply  of  books,  on  another  similar  tour. 

So  they  proposed.  But  God  had  another  plan. 
Through  a  Christian  captain  who  had  recently  come 
from  Swatow  they  heard  of  a  still  greater  need  and 
an  open  door  in  that  southern  port.  From  the  first 
Mr.  Taylor  felt  this  to  be  a  call  from  God  to  him- 
self to  go  where  no  others  were  working.  He  faced 
the  proposal,  however,  very  prayerfully,  suffering 
keenly  at  the  thought  of  parting  company  with  Will- 
iam Burns.  One  evening  he  came  to  the  point,  and 
with  tears  in  his  eyes  told  his  companion  of  his  de- 
cision. Mr.  Burns  seemed  surprised  and  rather 
pleased  than  the  reverse,  to  his  astonishment,  and 
told  Mr.  Taylor  that  he  also  had  felt  this  a  call  from 
God,  and  only  regretted  that  in  going  south  he  would 
need  to  part  from  his  new  but  very  dear  friend. 

They  went  together,  the  captain  giving  them  a  free 
passage.  At  Swatow  they  found  a  very  godless  set 
of  foreigners  engaged  in  the  then  illicit  opium  traffic 
and  in  the  coolie  business,  which  was  practically  a 
trade  in  slaves.  To  be  as  little  as  possible  associated, 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  with  these  other  foreign- 
ers, they  attempted  to  obtain  premises  in  the  native 
city,  but  were,  however,  entirely  unsuccessful  at  first. 
One  day,  happily,  they  met  a  Cantonese  merchant, 
who  was  so  delighted  to  hear  Mr.  Burns  speaking  his 
own  dialect  that  he  at  once  became  friendly  and  se- 
cured them  a  lodging.  The  lodging  was  not  much  to 
boast  of,  it  is  true — only  a  single  room  under  the  tiles 


FORMATIVE    EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  75 

— roastingly  hot  in  the  long  summer  days,  and  not 
much  better  through  the  still,  stifling  nights.  They 
made  it  a  point  to  be  as  much  away  as  they  could  on 
missionary  journeys,  and  were  thankful  to  have  a 
home  of  any  kind  among  the  people. 

After  four  months  at  Swatow,  Mr.  Taylor  ren- 
dered an  important  medical  service  to  the  local  man- 
darin at  a  time  when  the  native  doctors  were  wholly 
unable  to  give  relief.  Grateful,  as  usual,  for  medical 
help,  he  advised  the  missionaries  to  rent  a  place  for 
a  hospital  and  dispensary,  and  through  his  influence 
they  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  whole  of  the  house 
in  which  they  heretofore  had  occupied  such  narrow 
quarters. 

To  open  this  hospital  it  was  necessary  that  Mr. 
Taylor  should  return  to  Shanghai  and  obtain  his  med- 
ical supplies  and  surgical  instruments,  which  had 
been  left  behind  with  a  friend.  He  went,  but  was 
disappointed  to  find  they  had  been  destroyed  in  a 
fire.  Funds  were  low  and  medical  supplies  were  very 
clear  in  Shanghai,  so  he  decided  to  obtain  what  he 
needed,  if  possible,  from  his  medical  colleague,  Dr. 
Parker,  of  Ning-po.  On  the  journey  to  that  city  he 
had  some  very  trying  experiences  and  lost  all  the 
property  he  had  with  him,  to  the  value  of  about  two 
hundred  gold  dollars,  with  which  his  servant  ab- 
sconded. For  a  time  he  was  in  uncertainty  what  to 
do  in  the  matter.  He  could  easily  have  traced  and 
prosecuted  the  servant,  but  determined  not  to  do  so 
on  account  of  our  Lord's  injunctions  in  the  Sermon 


76  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

on  the  Mount.  Mr.  Taylor  had  repeatedly  pressed 
the  claims  of  Christ  on  the  man,  and  felt  that  it  was 
far  more  important  in  his  interest  to  practice  what  he 
preached  than  that  the  man  should  be  punished. 
There  was  very  little  prospect  of  recovering  the 
stolen  property  in  any  case,  and  the  man's  soul  was 
worth  incomparably  more  than  the  value  of  the 
goods.  A  friend  at  home  heard  of  this  decision,  and 
was  so  pleased  that  he  immediately  forwarded  a 
check  for  forty  pounds  sterling;  and  not  only  so,  but 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life  continued  to  take  a  pro- 
found and  very  practical  interest  in  the  work  in 
which  Mr.  Taylor  was  engaged,  and  in  its  future 
developments. 

Through  this  rencontre  Mr.  Taylor  was  considerably 
delayed  and  suffered  no  little  hardship,  being  left 
without  money  a  long  distance  from  Shanghai,  and 
finding  great  difficulty  in  returning. 

When,  eventually,  he  had  obtained  the  needed  in- 
struments and  medical  stores  from  Dr.  Parker,  war 
had  broken  out — the  second  Opium  War  between 
England  and  China — and  letters  from  Mr.  Bums 
awaited  him  at  Shanghai  saying  that  missionary  oper- 
ations were  for  the  time  being  impossible  at  Swatow. 
Then  Mr.  Taylor  knew  why  the  Lord  had  permitted 
the  tantalizing  delay,  and  glad  as  he  was  of  the  oppor- 
tunities and  experience  at  Swatow,  it  became  quite 
clear  afterwards  that  the  Lord  did  not  wish  him 
to  return. 

Mr.  Bums  remained  at  Swatow  for  a  time,  but  was 


rOKIklATIVE    EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  77 

arrested  on  an  evangelistic  journey,  imprisoned  and 
sent  in  custody  all  the  way  to  Canton. 

Thus    ended   an   important   and   most  formative 
period  of  the  young  missionary's  life. 

The  journey  to  Ning-po,  however,  resulted  in  an 
unexpected  development.  Mr.  Taylor  had  made  the 
acquaintance  there  of  the  Kev.  John  Jones,  he  and 
Dr.  Parker  being  members  of  the  same  Society  as 
himseK.  The  way  being  closed  to  Swatow  he  deter- 
mined to  join  his  confreres  at  Mng-po.  On  the  jour- 
ney, traveling  by  boat,  he  came  into  contact  with  a 
Chinaman  who  knew  something  of  foreigners  and 
had  received  the  name  of  Peter,  but  was  till  now 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  Gospel.  The  man  became 
interested  and  requested  permission  to  join  Mr.  Tay- 
lor in  a  preaching  expedition  in  one  of  the  large 
towns  they  passed,  to  Mr.  Taylor's  great  satisfaction, 
for  he  longed  to  see  this  intelligent  listener  more 
completely  under  the  influence  of  the  Truth.  Mr, 
Taylor  went  into  the  cabin  to  get  books  for  use  in  the 
city,  and  while  he  was  there  heard  a  sudden  splash. 
He  leaped  on  deck,  but  Peter  was  gone.  Evidently 
he  had  fallen  overboard.  In  a  moment  Mr.  Taylor 
had  pulled  down  the  sail  and  jumped  into  the  water, 
but  nothing  could  be  seen  of  the  missing  man.  Just 
then  a  fishing  boat  came  along  with  a  drag  net,  and 
Mr.  Taylor  begged  the  men  at  once  to  draw  and  see 
if  they  could  bring  up  the  drowning  man. 

"Puh  pien,"  they  replied,  "it  is  not  convenient." 

"But   a   man   is    drowning,"   Mr.    Taylor   cried. 


78  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

"Drag  at  once,  and  I  will  give  you  more  than  your 
day's  fishing  is  worth." 

"How  much  will  you  give  us  ?"  the  men  demanded, 
seeing  how  much  the  foreigner  was  in  earnest. 

"All  I  have,"  Mr.  Taylor  said,  "only  drag  at  once 
or  it  will  be  too  late." 

"How  much  have  you?"  they  continued,  with 
heartless  indifference. 

"I  don't  know  exactly,  about  fourteen  dollars." 

And  then  they  dragged  and  brought  up  the  dead 
body  of  the  missing  man. 

Sick  at  heart,  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  but  be  re- 
minded of  the  callous  indifference  of  too  many  to  the 
condition  of  the  perishing  multitudes  of  heathendom. 
These  fishermen  were  surely  guilty  of  the  death  of 
the  man  they  declined  to  save  until  too  late. 

May  we  not  be  equally  guilty  before  God,  in  our 
relation  to  the  lost,  if  we  "forbear  to  deliver  them 
that  are  drawn  unto  death?"  He  that  keepeth  thy 
soul,  doth  He  not  know  it,  and  shall  He  not  render 
to  every  man  according  to  his  work? 

It  was  now  nearing  the  end  of  1856,  and  the  work 
at  Ning-po  began  to  be  more  and  more  encouraging. 
But  about  this  time  Mr.  Taylor  found  himself  face 
to  face  with  a  serious  difficulty.  He  learned  that 
the  Society  with  which  he  was  connected  was  in  debt, 
and  remembering  that  we  are  commanded  through 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  "owe  no  man  anything,"  Mr.  Tay- 
lor made  it  a  matter  of  prayer,  and  became  increas- 
ingly convinced   that  debt  was  just  as   much  dis- 


FOEMATIVE    EXPERIENCE   IN    CHINA.  79 

obedience  in  an  association  of  Christians  as  in  an  in- 
dividual. After  some  months  of  correspondence,  find- 
ing that  the  Society  conld  not  agree  to  his  proposal 
to  send  him  money  when  they  had  it,  and  merely  to 
let  him  know  when  they  were  short,  Mr.  Taylor  felt 
compelled  to  resign.  He  did  so,  without  having  any 
"visible  means  of  support,"  but  he  put  the  matter  into 
the  Lord's  hands  and  felt  sure  that  He  would  bless 
a  course  of  obedience,  all  the  more,  probably,  because 
it  cost  something  to  take  it.  He  was  quite  prepared 
to  engage  in  business  if  necessary,  but  told  the  Lord 
he  would  much  prefer  to  be  wholly  engaged  in  mis- 
sionary work,  and  would  be  quite  willing  to  live  on 
the  least  possible  income  if  the  Lord  would  graciously 
send  it  in  some  way  or  other. 

His  colleague,  Mr.  Jones,  entirely  agreeing  with 
Mr.  Taylor,  took  the  same  step  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  many  remarkable  ways  their  needs  were  all  met, 
though  not  without  their  having  to  endure  from  time 
to  time  a  good  deal  of  hardness.  But  this  we  are  ex- 
horted to,  are  we  not,  '^as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ?'' 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Taylor  was  only 
twenty-four,  that  he  had  been  but  three  years  in 
China,  and  that  at  this  time  his  name  was  unknown 
outside  a  very  limited  set  of  personal  friends  and 
acquaintances  in  the  work.  On  one  occasion  the  two 
missionaries,  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Jones,  were  re- 
duced to  a  single  cash,  then  worth  the  tenth  part  of 
a  cent,  and  their  food  supply  was  exhausted.     After 


80  THESE   FORTY   TEAES. 

a  time  of  prayer  they  thought  they  would  try  to  sell 
the  only  marketable  thing  they  possessed,  a  foreign 
stove,  with  which,  however,  they  were  very  loth  to 
part.  Together  they  went  down  to  the  river  and  were 
about  to  cross  to  the  foundry  when  they  saw  the 
bridge  of  boats  had  been  washed  away,  and  they  were 
without  the  money  to  pay  for  the  ferry.  "God  must 
be  going  to  supply  our  needs  in  some  other  way," 
they  thought,  and  returned  home. 

Searching  a  seemingly  empty  cupboard  they  found 
a  small  remainder  of  cocoa.  This,  with  boiling  water, 
somewhat  refreshed  them.  Again  they  waited  on  the 
Lord  about  their  need,  a  need  which  Mr.  Taylor  felt 
the  more  keenly  because  he  was  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried in  a  fortnight,  and  that  very  evening  the  lady 
in  question.  Miss  Dyer,  and  a  friend,  were  expected 
to  tea.  While  they  were  still  on  their  knees  the  post- 
man came  with  a  lettter  containing  a  very  welcome 
I  omittance  from  home.  They  thanked  God  and  took 
courage,  and  the  wedding  was  not  postponed. 

Faith  wavered  at  times,  but  God's  faithfulness 
never  failed  them. 

On  another  occasion  Mr.  Taylor  had  been  nursing 
a  fellow-missionary,  Mr.  Quarterman,  of  the  Amer- 
ican Presbyterian  Board,  through  a  fatal  attack  of 
virulent  small-pox.  After  the  sad  ministry  was  ended 
it  was  needful  to  lay  aside  the  clothes  he  had  been 
wearing  for  fear  of  conveying  infection.  But  he  had 
no  other  clothes,  nor  money  to  buy  them.  ^'!N"o  good 
thing  will  He  withhold"  was  often  a  sheet  anchor 


FORMATIVE    EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  81 

to  his  faith  at  such  times.  He  asked  God  for  clothes. 
And  a  box  of  clothes  arrived  at  that  very  time  from 
Swatow,  his  own  things  that  had  been  left  with  Mr. 
Burns  the  year  before.  Again  and  again  the  learner 
Avas  given  precious  lessons  in  the  faithfulness  of  God. 

"Those  who  trust  Him  wholly. 
Find  Him  wholly  true." 

And  so,  thank  God,  do  those  who  trust  TTim  very 
imperfectly.  He  never  changes.  "If  we  believe  not, 
yet  He  abideth  faithful;  He  cannot  deny  Himself." 

In  the  year  1859  a  great  sorrow  came  to  the  little 
company.  ITot  long  before,  Mrs.  Taylor  had  been 
graciously  raised  up  in  answer  to  definite  prayer  from 
an  illness  that  almost  ended  fatally,  during  which 
Dr.  Parker's  kind  services  were  invaluable.  And  now 
Mrs.  Parker  was  stricken  with  a  severe  attack  of  Asi- 
atic cholera,  and  after  a  brief  illness  passed  away. 

For  the  children's  sake  Dr.  Parker  had  to  return 
home.  The  hospital  he  thought  must  be  closed,  for 
he  had  supported  it  by  his  own  private  practice 
among  foreigners,  and  the  expenses  were  consider- 
able. He  had,  however,  quite  a  supply  of  medicines. 
Would  Mr.  Taylor  keep  on  the  dispensary  ?  Asking 
a  week  for  prayer  while  the  doctor  was  making  his 
preparations  for  the  journey  home,  Mr.  Taylor  be- 
came convinced  that  he  ought  to  undertake  not  only 
the  dispensary  but  the  hospital  also,  since  the  latter 
gave  a  much  better  opportunity  for  reaching  the 
hearts  of  the  patients  with  the  Gospel.    Dr.  Parker 


82  THESE   FORTY    YEARS. 

was  much  surprised  and  tried  to  dissuade  him.  But 
Mr.  Taylor's  mind  was  made  up,  and  the  doctor  was 
able  to  leave  behind  enough  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the 
native  assistants  for  the  current  month.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  they  resigned,  very  naturally,  when  they 
learned  that  Mr.  Taylor  was  unable  to  promise  them 
their  usual  salary,  not  having  money  in  hand  for  the 
purpose.  A  little  church,  however,  had  been  gathered 
by  this  time,  and  several  of  the  native  Christians 
volunteered  to  help.  They  agreed  to  wait  upon  God 
in  prayer,  and  to  do  the  work  gratuitously  unless  God 
should  send  the  needed  supplies.  This  change  was, 
of  course,  a  great  help  in  the  spiritual  work  among 
the  patients. 

Their  faith  was  tested.  The  supply  of  rice  grew 
smaller  and  smaller.  The  patients,  who  averaged 
about  fifty  in  number,  were  invited  to  join  in  prayer 
to  God  that  the  needs  of  the  work  might  be  met.  One 
morning  the  cook  came  to  Mr.  Taylor  and  said :  '^The 
last  bag  of  rice  has  been  opened." 

"Then  God's  answer  to  our  prayers  must  be  very 
near  at  hand,"  Mr.  Taylor  replied,  and  left  the  room. 
He  went  away  for  a  time  of  quiet  prayer  with  Mrs. 
Taylor,  with  a  considerable  load  on  his  heart,  which 
the  cook  had  not  seen,  but  which  the  Father  had. 
They  waited  earnestly  on  God  to  meet  their  urgent 
need.  That  very  day  a  remarkable  letter  reached 
Mr.  Taylor  from  England,  Avhich  contained  a  check 
for  fifty  pounds.  The  writer  had  recently  lost  his 
father  and  had  inherited  a  considerable  increase  of 


FORMATIVE    EXPERIENCE    IN    CHINA.  83 

wealth.  He  said  that  he  did  not  propose  to  increase 
his  personal  expenditure,  for  which  he  had  ample 
before,  but  intended  to  hold  this  additional  monc}^  at 
the  Lord's  disposal,  for  use  in  His  service.  ^'H  you 
can  help  me  in  this  stewardship,"  he  concluded,  ^^I 
shall  be  very  grateful,  and  if  you  know  of  any  way 
in  which  more  money  can  be  used  in  the  Lord'^  work 
I  shall  be  glad  if  you  will  let  me  know." 

After  a  time  of  thanksgiving  with  Mrs.  Taylor  the 
native  helpers  were  called  in,  and  they  had  forthwith 
a  rather  noisy  but  verv  hearty  praise  meeting.  Be- 
fore many  moments  the  patients  knew  all  about  it. 
'^What  do  you  think  of  this  ?"  the  men  said.  ''There 
is  a  man  over  in  England  who  has  more  money  than 
he  knows  what  to  do  with  (an  extraordinary  condition 
to  the  Chinese  mind)  and  has  sent  two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  he  does  not  know  what  for,  in  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  needed  in  the  work."  The  patients 
confessed  they  had  never  heard  of  such  a  thing,  and 
were  deeply  impressed.  During  the  nine  months  that 
Mr.  Taylor  had  charge  of  this  hospital  forty-eight 
patients  professed  faith  in  the  Lord. 

The  experience  was  very  valuable,  but  the  strain 
of  all  this  additional  woi-k,  besides  the  responsibility 
of  the  gromng  little  church  was  too  much  for  Mr. 
I'aylor's  health.  He  became  seriously  ill  and  was 
obliged,  most  reluctantly,  to  leave  the  little  band  of 
earnest  native  Christians  who  were  becoming  such 
active,  hearty  fellow-workers.  I^othing  but  sheer 
necessity  would  have  persuaded  Mr.  Taylor  to  leave 


84  THESE   FORTY   Yj£AES, 

at  sucli  a  time.  He  hoped,  however,  that  a  few 
months  at  home  would  restore  him,  and  then  he 
would  be  able  to  return  to  his  much-loved  service  and 
his  earnest  fellow-Christians. 

Some  months  before,  impressed  by  the  growing 
opportunities  of  the  work  and  the  doors  that  seemed 
to  be  opening  on  every  hand,  Mr.  Taylor  had  written 
to  relatives  at  home : 

"Do  you  know  any  earnest,  devoted 
young  men  desirous  of  serving  God  in 
China  who,  not  wishing  for  more  than  their 
actual  support,  would  be  willing  to  come 
out  and  labor  here  ?  Oh,  for  four  or  five 
such  helpers !  They  would  probably  begin 
to  preach  in  Chinese  in  six  months'  time, 
and  in  answer  to  prayer  the  necessary 
means  for  their  support  would  be  found." 

"No  help  came  then,  and,  not  long  after,  health  gave 
way.  But  the  little  church  went  on  and  prospered, 
and  became,  as  the  years  went  by,  a  bright  influence 
for  good  in  that  city  and  neighborhood. 

In  good  time  for  the  journey  home,  funds  came  to 
hand,  not  only  ample  for  their  own  needs  but  suflB- 
cient  for  Mr.  Taylor  to  bring  with  him  a  young  native 
helper,  whom  he  hoped  to  use  both  in  preparing  lit- 
erature for  the  growing  church  and  in  teaching  the 
language  to  new  missionaries,  whom  they  confidently 
believed  God  would  send.  We  shall  see  how  that 
expectation  was  fulfilled. 


CHAPTEE   YII. 


INAUGURATION. 

How  remarkably  in  all  these  things  one  traces  the 
hand  of  God.  Of  every  believer  it  is  true  that  "we 
are  His  workmanship,  created  .  .  unto  good  works, 
which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  we  should  walk 
in  them."  And  is  it  not  abundantly  apparent  from 
what  we  have  seen,  that  God  was  preparing  a  special 
instrument  for  a  great  work;  a  "good  work"  fore- 
ordained for  Hudson  Taylor,  that  he  should  com- 
mence the  evangelization  of  inland  China? 

From  infancy,  in  thoughtful  childhood,  in  early 
manhood  among  medical  students,  in  the  diflBculties 
of  missionary  service  in  China,  surely  God  was  fitting 
His  vessel  for  His  use. 

Even  disappointments  were  proving  a  blessing.  As 
Pastor  Stearns,  of  Germantown,  has  said,  "Disap- 
pointments are  His  appointments."  They  were,  cer- 
tainly, for  Hudson  Taylor.  It  had  been  hard  to  leave 
that  little  church  at  I^ing-po,  whose  whole-hearted 
earnestness  and  loving,  happy  faces  were  opening 
doors  on  every  hand,  doors  that  might  not  remain 
open  always  if  they  were  not  entered,  and  that  were, 
in  point  of  fact,  closed  the  very  next  year  through 
the  T'ai-p'ing  rebellion.    But  we  know  now  that  God 

85 


86  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

was  resting  His  servant  with  a  view  to  a  future  that 
no  man  could  foresee. 

It  had  been  hard  to  hear  the  doctors  say  that  re- 
turn to  China  was  impossible,  at  any  rate  for  many 
years  to  come.  But  without  the  long  recruiting  time, 
and  prayer  and  work  at  home,  the  C.  I.  M.  probably 
would  never  have  been  born. 

It  had  been  hard  to  hear  the  missionary  secretaries 
say  they  could  not  take  up  work  toward  the  evan- 
gelization of  inland  China.  But  if  they  could  have 
done  so  this  new  Mission  would  never  have  been  sug- 
gested. Verilv,  God  was  behind  it  all.  And  His  serv- 
ant  needed  to  stand  back  a  little  if  he  was  to  see,  in 
its  true  perspective  and  magnitude,  the  whole  sweep 
of  the  need  of  that  vast  country.  At  Ning-po  he  was 
too  near  to  see  clearly  anything  but  the  dark  fore- 
ground of  the  heathen  immediately  around  him. 

We  have  seen  the  conflict  that  Avent  on  in  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's heart;  how  he  shrank  from  attempting  so  impos- 
sible a  task;  how  at  last  convinced  of  the  will  of  God 
he  yielded,  and  Avith  simple,  childlike  faith  said,  I 
Avill  if  Thou  Avilt.  I  Avill  do  Avhat  thou  Avillest,  if  onlv 
Thou  Avilt  bear  all  the  responsibilities  entailed  by 
obedience  to  Thy  conunand.  This  was  surely  a  chal- 
lenge in  which  God  could  take  pleasure.  ''Con- 
cei-ning  the  Avork  of  My  hands  command  ye  Me  !"  He 
says.  Wo  do  Avell,  Immbly,  reverently,  to  take  Him 
at  His  Avord.     And  to  do  so  every  time. 

We  have  seen  how  that  step  of  faith  at  Brighton 
on  June  25th,  1865,  led  up  to  the  prayer  "for  twenty- 


INAUGURATION.  87 

four  willing,  skillful  laborers"  to  go  two  and  two  to 
the  eleven  unoccupied  provinces  and  to  Mongolia. 

It  remains  now  to  trace  the  answer  to  that  prayer. 
From  the  first  Mr.  Taylor  had  no  doubt  the  prayer 
would  be  answered.  Of  course  not.  If  he  had,  he 
might  have  prayed  in  vain.  But  '^faith  without 
works"  was  no  part  of  his  program.  He  had  far  too 
strong  common -sense  for  that.  If  God  w^as  about  to 
start  a  Mission  to  unevangelized  China  he  must  pray 
and  consider  as  to  the  method  of  the  work.  "See  that 
thou  make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern  showed 
to  thee  on  the  mount,"  God  had  said  to  Moses.  And 
it  was  not  less  important  that  this  work  also  should 
be  after  the  pattern  and  the  plan  of  God. 

Mr.  Taylor  recognized  that  in  these  days  God  re- 
veals His  will  usually  not  by  visions  or  dreams  or 
sudden  inspirations,  as  some  would  seem  to  suppose, 
but  by  His  Word,  His  perennial  message  to  mankind. 
With  a  new  interest  and  ambition  he  came  to  it^ 
study.  What  had  it  to  say  about  this  new  venture, 
built  on  impossibilities  and  the  direct  command  of 
God? 

He  valued  greatly  also  the  counsel  of  godly  men. 
The  "counsel  of  the  ungodly"  he  had  no  use  for,  even 
though  it  were  friendly.  God  has  no  pleasure  in  it, 
for  it  leaves  Him  out  of  account.  "Whatsoever  He 
doeth  shall  prosper"  is  the  portion  of  those  who  do 
not  walk  in  their  counsel,  but  do  delight  in  and  walk 
according  to  the  law  of  the  Lord. 

He  was  broudit  much  in  contact,  at  this  time,  with 


88  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

an  unusually  wise  counsellor,  Mr.  Berger,  whose 
friendship  had  been  given  him  while  stUl  in  China. 
It  was  he  who  had  sent  gifts  that  arrived  most  op- 
portunely more  than  once.  And  now  in  his  home, 
two  hours'  journey  by  train  and  drive  from  London, 
at  Saint  Hill  in  picturesque  Surrey,  much  of  the 
planning  for  the  new  Mission  was  done.  More  saintly 
people  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  have  consulted.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Berger  took  from  the  first  a  keen  interest 
in  the  proposal.  To  their  advice  and  sympathy  the 
young  missionary  owed  as  much  as  to  their  coopera- 
tion and  their  gifts.  In  that  quiet  country  home, 
stately,  remote,  delightful,  or  out  on  its  beautiful 
lawns,  or  under  the  weeping  limes,  looking  through 
at  the  sunshine  on  lake  and  park  and  undulating 
country,  the  foundations  were  slowly  but  deeply  laid 
and  the  new  venture  received  its  name — ^the  China 
Inland  Mission. 

One  thing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  and  their  friends 
felt  very  strongly.  The  Mission  must  not  conflict  in 
any  way  with  existing  agencies.  Already  twenty 
different  Societies  were  working  in  China,  in  perhaps 
a  dozen  stations  all  around  the  coast.  The  first 
sheaves  were  being  garnered,  sheaves  which  the  de- 
voted workers  confidently  believed  were  but  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  coming  harvest.  There  was,  however, 
for  the  new  Mission  an  entirely  new  sphere.  'No  fear 
of  overlapping  on  the  field!  Inland  China,  away 
from  the  coast  country  and  Han-kow,  was,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  entirely  without  a  Protestant  mission- 


INAUGUEATION.  89 

ary.  And  the  need,  as  they  saw  it,  for  this  new 
sphere  of  service  was  new  workers  and  new  money : 
workers  who  would  probably  not  go  out  in  connec- 
tion with  the  existing  Boards,  and  funds  which  should 
not  curtail  or  lessen  in  any  way  contributions  to  the 
old,  established  work. 

Thus  far  workers  for  China  had  been  drawn  ex- 
clusively from  the  student  class  and  had  been  men 
with  a  college  education.  As  leaders  in  any  mis- 
sionary movement  such  workers,  Mr.  Taylor  felt, 
would  always  be  indispensable,  but  surely  to  carry 
the  simple  Gospel  of  faith  in  God  and  salvation  from 
sin  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  men  and  women 
who  could  win  souls  at  home  were  likely  to  win  souls 
in  China.  Moreover,  the  actual  number  of  men  and 
women  available,  with  high  educational  advantages, 
who  were  not  only  able  but  willing  to  go,  was  very 
limited  and  wholly  inadequate  to  meet  the  need.  And 
it  was  not  even  an  open  question  to  this  little  com- 
pany of  counsellors  that  spiritual  fitness  must  always 
take  precedence  of  intellectual  attainment.  The  deep 
things  of  the  Kingdom  have  been  apt  to  be  hidden 
from  the  wise  and  prudent  and  revealed  to  babes. 
Men  and  women  of  childlike  faith,  and  of  childlike 
unquestioning  obedience,  were  what  they  agreed  to 
ask  of  God. 

They  decided  also  that  the  basis  of  this  supple- 
mentary Mission  should  be  not  denominational,  but 
simply  Christian.  If  salvation  depends  on  faith  in 
Christ,  aad  p^  j;iiat  alone,  what  need  to  introduce  to 


90  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

the  converts  away  in  the  interior  of  China  the  little 
differences  of  AVestern  Christendom?  It  was  in  this 
quiet  home  also  that  they  finally  decided  to  take  up 
no  collections,  and  to  make  no  definite  appeals  for 
funds,  for  reasons  which  have  been  explained.  Since, 
then,  there  would  be  no  settled  income,  and  as  they 
determined  that  debt,  being  dishonoring  to  God  and 
explicitly  forbidden,  should  never  be  contracted,  it 
was  obviously  impossible  to  promise  a  settled  allow- 
ance to  the  members  of  the  Mission.  They  would 
have  no  stipulated  salary,  and  would  go  out,  if  they 
went  at  all,  trusting  in  a  covenant-keeping  God  to 
supply  their  every  need.  They  must,  therefore,  be 
men  and  women  who  knew  what  it  was,  practically, 
to  ''have  faith  in  God.'' 

Mr.  Taylor's  previous  experience  in  China  now 
stood  him  in  good  stead.  He  determined  for  himself 
and  his  fellow-missionaries  that  they  would  be  pre- 
pared to  accommodate  themselves,  in  all  wise  ways, 
to  the  conditions  among  which  they  worked.  In  mat- 
ters of  dress,  in  the  houses  they  occupied,  in  the 
minor  as  well  as  the  major  courtesies  of  life,  they 
would  conform  as  far  as  possible  to  the  preferences 
of  the  people,  that  they  might  the  more  readily  make 
friends,  and  thus  gaining  influence  and  respect  among 
a  people  who  cannot  understand  Western  ways  and 
manners,  they  would  use  this  leverage  in  winning 
men  and  women  to  the  Master.  If  the  love  of  Christ 
constrained  them  to  go,  surely  love  to  Christ  and  to 
souls  would  make  them  willing  for  all  these  lesser 


INAUGUEATION.  91 

sacrifices.  The  methods  of  the  work  were  partly 
ueAV,  perhaps,  but  the  principle  was  old,  the  grand 
old  fundamental  principle  of  FAITH. 

The  plan  of  campaign  they  proposed  was  equally 
simple.  It  was  just  this:  to  send  out  workers  as  God 
opened  up  the  way,  two  and  two,  into  eacli  of  the 
unoccupied  provinces,  and  later  on,  perhaps,  if  the 
work  should  grow  still  further,  to  follow  out  this 
Apostolic  method  in  greater  detail. 

Of  course,  there  would  be  many  who  would  doubt 
the  feasibility  of  the  whole  thing,  but  there  was  after 
all  no  mystery  about  it,  save  the  mystery  of  GOD, 
Who  had  commanded,  ^^Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  If  He  in- 
tended His  servants  to  carry  out  His  command  noth- 
ing would  be  impossible  to  Him. 

But  not  planning  only  was  needed.  To  find  God's 
men  for  the  work  it  was  necessary  to  make  known  the 
need  and  the  opening  for  service.  This  Mr.  Taylor 
did  in  two  ways.  He  drew  up  a  series  of  papers 
on  the  spiritual  needs  and  claims  of  China,  con- 
vincing appeals,  which  won  their  way  to  many  hearts, 
and  drew  forth  not  a  little  interest  in  China  and  the 
proposed  new  Mission.  At  tlu^  same  time  Mr.  Taylor 
embraced  every  opportunity  that  arose  for  speaking 
of  the  needs  of  the  people  in  public.  He  went,  about 
this  time,  to  the  annual  conference  for  the  deepening 
of  spiritual  life  at  Perth,  in  Scotland.  Such  confer- 
ences, so  common  now,  were  rare  then,  and  gathered 
together  some  of  the  most  godly  and  earnest  souls 


92  THESE    FOKTY    YEARS. 

to  be  found  in  the  British  Isles.  Mr.  Taylor  met  with 
them  from  day  to  day,  and  enjoyed  greatly  the  fel- 
lowship with  kindred  spirits.  The  burden  of  his  soul, 
however,  they  did  not  share.  He  longed  that  they 
should  know  more,  and  pray  more,  about  the  con- 
ditions of  millions  of  our  fellow-men  in  China.  At 
last  with  much  difficulty  he  overcame  his  natural 
reticence  and,  calling  upon  the  conveners,  asked  for 
an  opportunity  to  bring  the  overwhelming  needs  of 
China  before  the  conference.  "But,"  the  chairman 
said  with  manifest  surprise,  "this  is  a  meeting  for 
edification!" 

Yes,  Mr.  Taylor  said,  he  knew,  but  surely  it  could 
not  be  unedifying  to  the  Lord's  people  to  consider 
whether  they  were  bound  to  obey  His  last  command 
or  not,  and  to  let  themselves  feel  some  compassion 
for  the  starving  multitudes  of  heathendom  who  had 
no  chance  of  tasting  the  Bread  of  Life.  Very  ear- 
nestly he  pleaded  for  the  time. 

After  some  time  for  consideration,  the  answer  was 
sent  that  next  morning  at  the  principal  session  of 
the  conference  Mr.  Taylor  would  have  twenty  min- 
utes to  speak  of  the  needs  of  China.  How  much  it 
cost  the  young  missionary  to  address  that  great 
gathering  will  never,  probably,  be  known.  He  rose 
at  four  in  the  morning  and  wrestled  with  God  in 
prayer  for  the  grace  and  the  power  to  rightly  bring 
before  His  people  the  overwhelming  needs  of  China. 
And  thus  from  the  presence  of  God  he  went  to  that 
great  assembly  of  His  people.     As  he  stood  before 


INAUGURATION. 


93 


them,  that  great,  surprised,  expectant  audience,  his 
courage  failed.  He  had  not  a  word  to  say.  There 
was  One,  however,  to  Whom  he  could  speak  with 
freedom  of  the  great  need  that  He  only  knew  suffi- 
ciently. 

"Let  us  pray,"  he  said,  and  five  minutes  of  the 
precious  time  was  spent  in  fervent,  definite  prayer 
to  God  for  the  hundreds  of  millions  of  lost  souls,  souls 
for  whom  Christ  has  died,  in  that  greatest  of  all 
heathen  countries.  When  he  finished,  his  nervous- 
ness was  gone.  He  was  conscious  only  of  God,  of 
His  presence  and  His  help. 

Then  followed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  of  vivid  de- 
scription and  of  burning  appeal  for  the  people  of 
China.  The  audience  was  hushed  and  solemnized 
and  deeply  interested,  and  those  who  were  present 
at  that  gathering  thirty-seven  years  ago  say  they  can 
never  forget  the  impression  which  was  left  upon  their 
minds. 

From  Perth  Mr.  Taylor  went  to  Liverpool,  and 
from  there,  in  company  with  Mr.  Grattan  Guinness, 
the  orator-evangelist  of  Dublin,  visited  Ireland. 
After  holding  missionary  meetings  at  Dublin,  Cork, 
Limerick,  Belfast  and  other  places,  Mr.  Taylor  re- 
turned to  England.  And  in  the  same  year  he  was 
present  at  the  great  Mildmay  Conference,  presided 
over  by  that  saintly  Episcopal  clergyman,  William 
Pennefather. 

As  a  result  of  these  and  other  meetings  not  only  was 
sympathy  obtained,  lasting  and  prayerful  sympathy, 


94  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

but  men  and  women  offered  themselves  for  the  work. 
Applications  were  received  from  over  forty  volun- 
teers. The  most  suitable  of  these,  fifteen  or  sixteen 
in  number,  were  selected  and  invited  to  stay  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Taylor,  to  commence  work  on  the  language 
and  enjoy  a  time  of  fellowship  in  Bible  study,  Mr. 
Taylor  having  meanwhile  the  best  of  opportunities 
for  deciding  as  to  their  fitness  for  the  work.  The 
small  home  in  the  east  end  of  London,  chosen  for  its 
proximity  to  the  London  Hospital  and  for  its  loca- 
tion among  the  poor,  was  of  course  no  longer  suffi- 
cient. They  moved,  when  the  first  candidates  ar- 
rived, to  a  larger  house  in  Coborn  Street,  one  of  the 
many  turnings  out  of  Bow  Road,  that  main  artery 
of  East  London.  Soon  this  also  became  too  small. 
They  prayed  about  the  matter,  and  there  and  then 
the  next  door  neighbor  vacated  his  house,  and  they 
obtained  immediate  possession.  Day  by  day  at  noon 
the  whole  company  met  for  united  prayer  about 
China  and  its  needs,  and  about  the  launching  of  the 
Mission,  and  every  Saturday  afternoon  a  similar 
meeting  was  held  to  which  friends  were  invited. 

Thus,  in  Bible  study  and  work  upon  the  language, 
the  time  passed  rapidly,  until  by  Christmas  a  party 
of  approved  workers  were  ready  and  in  training.  But 
the  funds  were  not  forthcoming.  This,  however,  did 
not  discourage  them.  They  determined,  on  the  last 
day  of  the  old  year,  to  have  a  special  time  of  fasting 
and  prayer  about  funds  and  other  yet  more  important 
matters.    And  so  much  blessing  resulted  to  the  mem- 


FRONT    PAGE    OF    THE    OLD       OCCASIONAL    PAPER. 


INAUGURATION.  95 

bers  of  the  little  company  that  the  practice  of  fasting 
and  prayer  on  IsTew  Year's  eve  became  a  custom  in 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  and  it  has  been  ever  since, 
both  at  home  and  on  the  field. 

It  seemed  desirable  now  to  commence  the  publica- 
tion of  an  '^Occasional  Paper"  which,  three  or  four 
times  a  year,  might  set  forth  some  account  of  the 
work  for  and  in  China.  In  the  preliminary  number, 
drawn  up  in  January,  1866,  Mr.  Taylor  mentioned 
that  a  party  of  workers  were  in  training  to  go  out, 
and  would  probably  sail  in  May  if  the  way  were  clear, 
and  that  the  expense  for  passage  and  outfit  would 
probably  be  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
pounds  sterling.  The  manuscript  was  ready  for  the 
printer  on  the  sixth  of  February. 

As  soon  as  this  was  out  of  hand,  they  felt  the  time 
had  come  to  commence  waiting  regularly  on  God 
about  this  important  and  immediate  need  of  funds. 
Daily  at  the  mid-day  meeting,  the  little  company 
united  in  asking  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  provide 
what  was  needed. 

Thus  February  passed.  Owing  to  a  fire  at  the 
printer's  it  was  not  until  the  twelfth  of  March  that 
the  pamphlet  was  received,  just  a  month  and  six  days 
from  the  completion  of  the  manuscript.  As  soon  as 
the  paper  came  it  occurred  to  Mr.  Taylor  that  before 
this  statement  about  the  work  was  put  into  circu- 
lation they  should  add  up  the  accounts  and  see 
what  had  already  come  to  hand.  From  January  1st 
to  Februarv  6th,  one  month  and  six  days,  the  equiv- 


96  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

alent  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ($850)  had 
been  received.  How  much  had  come  in  during  the 
next  equal  period  of  daily  prayer  for  funds  ?  It  was 
found  that  nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  ($9,850)  had  been  contributed.  It  need  hardly 
be  added  that  this  was  a  great  encouragement  to 
faith,  and  confirmed  their  determination  to  look  to 
God  for  everything. 

But  an  unusual  difficulty  now  occurred  to  them. 
Here  was  the  first  ^^Occasional  Paper"  with  a  refer- 
ence to  a  probable  expenditure  of  seven  to  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  for  passages  and  outfits,  and  now  already 
the  entire  need  was  met.  It  remained  simply  to  add 
a  colored  insert  saying  that  the  Lord  had  graciously 
supplied  all  that  was  needed,  through  His  servants. 
Mr.  Taylor  was  reminded  of  the  dilemma  of  Moses 
when  the  people  brought  too  much  for  the  building 
of  the  tabernacle,  and  had  to  send  out  a  proclamation 
that  they  should  cease  giving.  I  wonder,  thought  he, 
if  the  Lord's  people  laid  less  emphasis  on  finance,  and 
more  on  the  spiritual  side  of  work  for  God,  whether 
such  difficulties  as  this  of  Moses  might  not  occur  more 
frequently. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  during  the  next  month 
and  six  days,  March  12th  to  April  18th,  there  came 
in  only  two  thousand  six  hundred  dollars  ($2,600), 
abundant  for  present  needs  at  home  and  in  China. 
In  China,  because  that  prayer  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
as  they  were  leaving  China,  for  ^ve  laborers  for  the 
growing  iN'ing-po  work,  had  not  been  forgotten  by 


INAUGURATION.  97 

those  who  prayed  nor  unanswered  by  the  God  Who 
heard.  The  five  workers  had  been  on  the  field  some 
time,  and  had  recently  been  reinforced  by  the  first 
three  members  of  the  C.  I.  M.,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Steven- 
son and  Mr.  Stott. 

With  regard  to  Mr.  Stott,  there  had  been  some 
difficulty  in  Mr.  Taylor's  mind  about  his  going  to 
China,  on  account  of  the  fact  that,  while  his  health 
was  good,  he  had  lost  one  leg  through  an  accident. 
The  needs  of  the  country,  however,  were  deeply  laid 
upon  his  heart.  And  when  Mr.  Taylor,  at  their  first 
interview,  asked  how  it  would  fare  with  him  in  a  riot, 
how  he  would  be  able  to  escape  if  his  life  were  in 
danger  at  some  new  station,  Mr.  Stott  replied  that  he 
had  not  thought  of  running  away.  When  Mr.  Taylor 
pressed  the  question  as  to  how  he  would  get  on 
amoug  such  an  unfriendly  people  he  expressed  the 
conviction  that  in  the  Avar  of  God  "the  lame  shall 
take  the  prey.''  In  all  other  respects  Mr.  Stott's  case 
wsrs  perfectly  clear,  so,  of  course,  he  was  accepted. 

It  will  not  be  supposed  that  during  these  early 
days  of  planning  and  preparing,  the  more  serious 
difficulties  were  forgotten.  As  they  presented  them- 
selves they  were  simply  made  matters  of  prayer. 
Would  the  country  prove  to  be  open?  Would  the 
workers  be  able  to  go  and  to  work  inland?  And  if 
they  were  able,  would  there  be  sufficient  safety  to 
life  to  make  the  work  reasonably  practicable  ?  And 
how,  if  the  workers  did  succeed  and  opened  stations 
in  the  far  interior,  would  it  be  possible  to  transmit 


98  THESE   FORTY    YEAES. 

funds  to  these  isolated  outposts  ?  All  these  and  many 
other  serious  problems  faced  them,  but  over  against 
all  they  placed  the  great  answer — God.  He  Who 
openeth  and  no  man  shutteth  would  surely  go  before 
them.  ISTot  only  would  they  not  be  sent  warring  at 
their  own  charges,  but  the  Captain  of  salvation  would 
Himself  be  with  them,  to  Whom  all  power  and  ^'all 
authority  hath  been  given  in  heaven"  with  our  Father 
^'and  on  earth"  with  men,  and  He  would  prosper 
them  in  all  the  varied  difficulties  and  embarrassments 
they  went  to  face  for  Him. 

At  this  time,  March,  1865,  the  number  of  mission- 
aries in  China  had  dwindled  down  to  ninety-one, 
about  one  man  to  four  millions.  But,  of  course,  in 
the  interior  the  need  was  limitless,  for  among  its  hun- 
dreds of  millions  there  was  not  a  single  missionary. 
No  wonder  these  new  recruits  felt  they  must  go, 
whatever  hindered. 

The  party  now  in  readiness  consisted  of  sixteen 
workers,  including  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor,  returning 
with  their  little  children  (of  whom  the  writer  was 
one),  besides  Miss  Bausam,  who  was  to  join  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Lord,  of  the  American  Baptist  Union,  and  the 
children's  nurse.  The  next  thing  to  pray  for  was  suit- 
able accommodation  for  the  journey,  not  an  easy 
thing  to  find  in  those  days  for  a  party  of  twenty-two. 

About  that  time  Mr.  Taylor  went  to  Totteridge, 
a  village  not  far  from  London,  for  a  lecture  on  China, 
which  he  had  promised  to  give  Avith  the  understand- 
ing that  no  collection  should  be  taken.    He  spoke  as 


INAUGURATION.  99 

usual  of  the  needs  of  the  country,  the  deplorable 
needs  that  he  had  seen  and  felt,  and  also  of  the  new 
effort  to  meet  those  needs,  very  earnestly  asking 
prayer  for  the  workers  so  soon  to  sail  for  China.  The 
audience  was  deeply  moved.  The  chairman,  Mr. 
Puget,  in  closing  the  meeting  urged  that  there  ought 
to  be  a  collection,  and  hoped  that  as  the  suggestion 
came  from  himself  and  not  from  the  speaker,  Mr. 
Taylor  would  not  refuse  what  seemed  the  unanimous 
Avish  of  the  audience.  Mr.  Taylor,  however,  rose  and 
said  that  he  would  very  much  prefer  that  the  printed 
announcement  of  the  meeting  be  adhered  to  and  no 
collection  taken.  If  any  who  were  present  wished 
to  help  forward  God's  work  in  China,  after  prayerful 
consideration  they  could  send  what  they  wished  to 
any  of  the  existing  missionary  societies  that  had 
workers  in  China,  or  it  could  be  sent  to  the  China 
Inland  Mission;  but  what  he  desired  just  then  was 
that  each  one  should  leave  the  meeting  burdened  with 
a  sense  of  the  need  of  China  and  the  duty  of  the 
Lord's  people  to  meet  that  need. 

When  they  reached  home  Mr.  Puget  told  his  guest 
he  felt  a  mistake  had  been  made  in  refusing  to  that 
interested  audience  an  opportunity  to  share  in  the 
good  work.  Mr.  Taylor  ventured  to  differ;  he 
thought  that  too  often  the  benefit  of  such  a  meeting 
was  lost  through  people  easing  their  consciences  by 
giving  what  was  convenient  at  the  moment  and  then 
going  away  and  forgetting  the  need  and  the  claim 
upon  their  sympathy  and  prayers. 


100  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

"Next  morning  his  kind  host  came  down  late  and 
looked  wearj.  He  had  had  a  bad  night.  The  awful 
picture  of  those  ignorant,  neglected  multitudes  going 
out  into  the  night  of  eternity  without  hope,  without 
Christ,  kept  coming  back  to  him  in  all  its  awful  sig- 
nificance. He  had  spent  much  of  the  night  in  prayer. 
After  breakfast  he  asked  Mr.  Taylor  to  his  study, 
gave  him  several  little  contributions  that  had  been 
left  with  him  the  night  before,  and  then  handed  Mr. 
Taylor  an  envelope  saying,  "I  believe  you  were  right. 
If  there  had  been  a  collection  I  should  have  put  in 
probably  a  five-pound  note,  but  now  after  prayer  I 
feel  that  God  would  have  me  give  you  this."  In  the 
envelope  was  a  check  for  ^ve  hundred  pounds.  This 
little  incident  was  a  great  encouragement  to  Mr. 
Taylor. 

He  went  straight  from  there  to  the  shipping  agents, 
whose  letter  had  reached  him  that  very  morning  at 
breakfast,  and  finding  the  accommodation  of  the  sail- 
ing vessel  "Lammermuir"  ample  and  convenient, 
paid  the  check  on  account.  Thus,  in  His  own  ex- 
ceeding abundant  measure,  the  Lord  provided  for  all 
the  needs  of  the  work.  They  had  prayed  for  from 
seven  to  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  the  Lord  in  answer 
had  sent  them  considerably  over  fifteen  thousand.  He 
knew  better  than  they  how  much  would  be  needed. 

One  other  thing  remained  to  settle.  Who,  when 
all  the  workers  were  out  in  China,  would  ^'hold  the 
ropes"  at  home?  Who  would  receive  and  forward 
subscriptions  and  answer  correspondence,  and  who 


INAUGURATION.  101 

would  interview  and  accept  suitable  candidates  that 
might  offer  for  the  work?  These  double  responsibil- 
ities of  representative  and  treasurer  Mr.  Berger  very 
cordially  undertook.     All  then  was  ready. 

The  effort  to  meet  the  need  was  a  small  one,  truly, 
and  the  workers  had  not  even  the  certain  prospect  of 
a  home  when  they  arrived  in  China.  But  weak 
though  they  were,  the  Almighty  God  was  with  them. 
"I  can  do  all  things"  they  could  say  with  Paul  (lit. 
^'I  have  strength  to  do  all  things")  ^^in  Christ  Which 
strengtheneth  me."  So,  trusting  in  him,  they  started 
out  on  their  difficult  and  untried  way. 

The  voyage  was  not  uneventful.  'No  one  of  the 
party  that  sailed  on  the  "Lammermuir"  will  ever  for- 
get it,  that  is  certain,  not  even  the  children:  two  of 
whom  are  members  of  the  C.  I.  M.  to-day,  the  other 
two  are  living  with  Him  Who  best  loves  little  chil- 
dren and  Who  took  them  from  China  to  be  educated, 
perfected,  under  His  own  immediate  care. 

Before  the  ship  left  the  London  docks  the  mission- 
aries were  commended  to  God  by  a  little  circle  of 
friends  and  well-wishers  who  saw  them  off.  They 
said  good-bye  to  England  with  the  confident  expecta- 
tion that  the  good  hand  of  God  would  be  upon  them, 
and  that  they  would  have  plenty  of  opportunities  for 
service  on  the  way.  Had  they  not  very  definitely 
asked  God  to  gather  a  crew  to  whom  He  would  bless 
their  message? 

The  voyage  was  necessarily  long.  The  Suez  Canal 
was  not  yet  opened,  and  sailing  round  the  Cape  of 


102  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Good  Hope  could  not  but  occupy  several  months.  All 
went  serenely,  however.  Captain  Bell  and  his  offi- 
cers were  as  kind  as  kind  could  be,  and  in  studying 
the  language  and  in  fellowship  over  the  Word  and 
in  prayer  the  days  sped  delightfully. 

In  a  letter  home  from  Java  Mr.  Taylor  writes  of 
the  delightful  voyage  they  were  having,  very  little 
rough  weather,  favorable  winds  and,  even  in  the 
tropics,  cool,  delightful  days  and  restful  nights.  Al- 
ready, by  the  blessing  of  God  on  meetings  held  each 
Sunday,  and  often  on  weekday  evenings  as  well,  no 
less  than  twenty  men  had  been  brought  to  the  Lord. 
The  ship's  company,  including  the  captain  and  offi- 
cers, were  only  thirty-four  in  all,  so  that  with  three 
who  were  Christians  before,  only  eleven  remained 
to  be  prayed  for  and  won  if  possible. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected,  however,  that  such  a 
company  of  earnest  soul  seekers  would  be  allowed  to 
reach  China  without  any  serious  obstacle.  Soon  after 
leaving  Java,  in  the  China  Sea,  they  met  with  two  ter- 
rific hurricanes,  typhoons  (great  winds)  the  Cantonese 
call  them.  Booms,  spars  and  masts,  one  after  another, 
and  part  of  the  gunwale  and  deck  gear,  went  over- 
board, and  when,  after  laboring  all  through  the  first, 
and  enjoying  a  brief  season  of  comparative  quiet,  the 
second  came  on,  the  crew  lost  all  hope  of  bringing  the 
leaking  wreck  to  port.  Mr.  Taylor,  however,  con- 
fident that  God  had  work  for  them  to  do  in  China, 
encouraged  the  crew,  and  the  whole  party,  ladies  as 
well  as  men,  helped  day  and  night  at  the  pumps. 


INAUGURATION.  103 

Thus  at  last,  by  God's  great  mercy,  the  poor  old 
'Tammermuir,"  that  had  so  nearly  gone  to  pieces, 
was  towed  safe  home  into  Shanghai  harbor. 

It  is  not  hard  to  imagine  the  feelings  of  relief  and 
thankfulness  with  which  the  weary,  sea-battered 
party  arrived  at  their  desired  haven.  In  spite  of  all 
the  malice  of  the  Enemy,  the  prince  of  the  "power  of 
the  air,"  they  had  reached  the  land  to  which  their 
lives  were  given ! 

Where  they  would  go,  what  they  would  do,  they 
could  not  tell.  They  had  no  certainty  but  One.  He 
Who  had  called  them  was  mth  them,  and  all  was 
well. 


CHAPTER    VII  I. 


THE   FIRST  FOUR  YEARS. 

^^A  few  months'  time"  was  the  limit  set  by  critics 
for  the  duration  of  the  Mission.  "Madmen,  luna- 
tics !"  said  a  Shanghai  newspaper  in  a  facetious 
article,  "Why  do  not  their  people  keep  them  at  home 
in  an  asylum,  where  they  would  be  harmless  to  them- 
selves and  the  community?"  But  such  prophecies 
and  such  questions  need  but  one  answer — time. 

Probably  these  comments  of  those  who  saw  noth- 
ing in  the  new  departure  but  vagary  were  a  tonic,  a 
stimulant  even,  to  these  adventurers  who,  in  obedi- 
ence to  a  divine  command,  had  launched  out  into  the 
deep  on  the  sea  of  faith. 

For  they  needed  encouragement.  And  this  may 
have  helped  them,  casting  them  back  on  Him  who 
never  fails.     Can  we  picture  their  position  ? 

It  was  not  a  strong,  or  a  wise,  or  a  confident  party 
that  found  themselves  moored  in  the  Shanghai  har- 
bor that  thirtieth  of  September,  1866.  Yet  strong 
they  w^ere  in  the  strength  of  Him  Who  was  with 
them;  wise  they  were  in  that  which  is  wisdom  indeed, 
and  confident  they  were  that  God  would  not  forsake 
them.  Like  many  another  missionary  pioneer,  they 
did  not  know  what  to  do  first,  or  even  where  they 
would  live.    It  was  very  evident  that  they  were  "not 

104 


THE   FIRST   FOUR   YBAES.  105 

wanted,"  not  even  welcome,  in  China,  and  as  time 
passed  this  would  become  increasingly  evident.  But 
oh,  how  they  were  needed !  That  at  least  they  knew, 
and  they  thanked  God:  for  many  mercies  thus  far 
and  deliverance  from  a  stormy  grave;  for  a  great 
need  realized  and  for  the  opportunity  to  meet  it — 
their  ''call"  to  missionary  service — they  thanked  God 
and  strengthened  their  hearts  in  Him. 

Not  only  did  they  need  a  temporary  shelter  for 
themselves,  but  where  should  they  store  all  their 
baggage,  their  printing  presses  and  type,  their  med- 
ical and  surgical  armamentarium,  and  all  the  private 
belongings  of  the  party? 

It  is  easy  to  say  that  they  prayed,  and  God  an- 
swered. But  it  meant  a  good  deal  when  God's  answer 
came,  when  that  very  day  of  their  arrival  Mr.  Taylor 
received  a  cordial  invitation  from  an  old  friend  and 
Avell-wisher,  Mr.  W.  Gamble,  an  invitation  and  a 
welcome  to  the  whole  party,  with  storage  room  for 
all  their  belongings. 

How  heartily,  in  their  thanksgiving,  they  asked 
God  to  reward  Mr.  Gamble.*  And  how  gladly  they 
exchanged  their  narrow  cabins  for  the  ample  space 
and  generous  hospitality  of  his  warehouse  and  his 
home. 

Here  at  once  they  set  about  preparing  for  their 
further  journey,  for  Hang-chau  was  to  be  the  first 
headquarters  of  the  Mission.     Their  baggage  had  to 

♦Missionary  in   charge  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Mission  Press. 


106  THESE  FORTY  TEARS. 

be  opened  and  examined,  after  the  last  stage  of  the 
voyage,  and  their  things  divided  and  repacked,  so  that 
they  might  take  with  them  as  little  as  possible  at  first. 

A  busy  and  a  very  cheerful  scene  that  warehouse 
presented,  scattered  over  with  opened  trunks  and 
packing  cases,  and  in  one  part  a  regular  laundry,  pre- 
sided over  by  the  ladies,  disposing  of  the  washing  of 
those  four  long  months  at  sea. 

Then  again,  to  procure  Chinese  clothing  for  so 
large  a  party  was  no  small  business,  for  they  were  all 
going  to  travel  and  to  work  in  native  dress,  and  many 
were  the  merry  remarks  that  were  passed  as  one  after 
another  donned  the  strange,  loose  and,  to  the  unin- 
itiated, clumsy  garb,  and  as  the  men,  for  the  Master's 
sake,  with  uncomplaining  fortitude,  had  their  heads 
shaved  a  la  Chinois.  Passports  also  had  to  be  ob- 
tained and  names  registered  at  the  consulate,  while 
delightful  visits  with  older  missionaries  made  a  profit- 
able variation  from  the  soberer  duties  of  the  day. 

Busy  they  were  indeed,  and  full  of  hope,  though 
faced  with  nothing  but  uncertainty,  because  of  the 
gracious  assurance  in  all  their  hearts,  "He  that  sent 
me  is  with  me." 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  Mr.  Taylor,  at  the 
first  available  moment,  left  for  a  brief  visit  to  l!^ing- 
po  to  see  his  old  friends  in  the  native  church,  whom 
he  loved  with  all  the  strong  affection  of  a  "father 
in  the  Lord,"  and  to  confer  mth  the  seven  mission- 
aries who  up  till  now  had  been  the  entire  staff  of  the 
Mission  in  China.     There  went  with  him  Miss  Ban- 


THE    FIRST    FOUR   TEARS.  107 

sam,  to  join  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lord,  of  the  A.  B.  M.  U., 
and  Miss  Rose,  who  was  shortly  afterward  married 
to  Mr.  Meadows,*  the  missionary  in  charge  at  Mng- 
po.  Mr.  Taylor's  visit  was  most  encouraging.  !N'ot 
only  were  the  workers  delighted  to  welcome  him  in 
China  and  to  hear  detailed  news  about  the  reinforce- 
ments, but  the  formal  yet  very  affectionate  saluta- 
tions of  the  little  company  of  Chinese  Christians 
were  to  him  especially  refreshing.  In  spite  of  a  sea- 
son of  severe  testing  through  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebellion, 
which  had  devastated  the  city  in  '61  and  '62,  the 
little  church  had  grown  considerably,  and  Mr.  Mead- 
ows was  full  of  expectation  for  the  future.  ]^ot  only 
had  the  church  at  Mng-po  grown  and  prospered  but 
three  new  stations  had  been  opened  at  important  cen- 
ters within  easy  distance. 

Of  these  new  stations  the  most  important  was 
Shao-hing,  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  China. 
From  its  situation  on  many  canals  and  its  political 
prestige  it  has  been  aptly  termed  the  Venice  of 
China,  and  many  of  the  most  influential  men  in  China 
are  proud  to  be  its  citizens.  For  the  post  of  private 
secretary  to  all  the  high  officials,  not  only  in  every 
province  but  in  every  city  of  the  empire,  is  invariably 
supplied  by  alumni  of  Shao-hing,  who  protect  them- 
selves against  competition  by  simply  ignoring  all  let- 
ters, documents  and  despatches  which  come  from 
other  hands.  By  this  simple  yet  drastic  expedient  all 
this  important  and  remunerative  work  is  kept  in  the 

♦Mr.  Meadows'  first  wife  had  died  in  1863. 


108  THESE    FORTY   TEARS. 

one  fraternity.  It  is  easy  to  see  the  strategic  neces- 
sity for  opening  work  in  this  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stevenson,  who  had  arrived  in  China  in  February, 
1866,  were  already  located  here. 

On  returning  to  Shanghai  Mr.  Taylor  took  with 
him  two  or  three  experienced  native  Christians,  as 
teachers  for  the  new  arrivals. 

Meanwhile  the  preparations  at  Shanghai  were 
nearly  finished,  and  not  many  days  after  Mr.  Taylor's 
return  boats  were  hired  for  the  journey  to  Hang- 
chau.  On  October  20th  the  whole  party,  after  a  very 
grateful  farewell  to  Mr.  Gamble,  took  possession  of 
their  Chinese  houseboats.  Before  leaving  the- harbor 
they  pulled  alongside  the  good  old  "Lammermuir," 
now  nearly  ready  for  sea  again,  to  say  good-bye  to 
the  ship's  company  and  Captain  Bell.  Here  they 
were  greatly  touched  by  an  unexpected  proof  of  sym- 
pathy and  affection,  a  gift  of  more  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty  dollars  for  the  work  from  the  officers  and 
crew,  no  names  being  given.  It  was  the  men's  own 
proposal,  a  generous  token  of  gratitude  and  love, 
l^one  of  the  party  will  ever  forget  the  kind  words 
and  hearty  handshakes  of  the  men,  many  of  whom 
were  in  tears,  nor  the  loud,  long  cheers  that  rang  out 
from  the  rigging  as  the  little  procession  of  native 
houseboats  started  on  its  way. 

Hang-chau,  for  which  they  were  destined,  is  one  of 
the  oldest  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cities 
in  China.  Situated  far  up  the  estuary  of  the  pictur- 
esque, limpid  Ts'ien-t'ang,  this  capital  of  the  Cheh- 


THE    FIEST    FOUR   YEAES.  109 

kiang  province  had  been  chosen  to  be  the  center  of 
the  Mission.  Easy  of  access  from  Shanghai,  with 
five  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  scarcely  a 
Christian  among  them,  the  metropolis  of  twenty  rail- 
lion  people,  it  was  just  the  basis  they  needed  for  the 
work,  a  basis  of  operations  from  which,  please  God, 
should  be  opened  gradually,  first  in  this  province  and 
later  in  less  accessible  regions,  many  a  center  for  the 
diffusion  of  the  Light. 

Hang-chau  moreover  was  already  open.  Great  care 
would,  of  course,  be  needed,  coming  with  so  large 
a  party,  not  to  arouse  the  animosity  of  the  educated 
classes,  always  averse  to  foreigners.  Still  there 
would  be  every  prospect  of  a  peaceable  location  for 
the  present,  until  such  time  as  progress  with  the 
language  and  acquaintance  with  the  people  should 
make  it  safe  to  scatter  to  other  places  needier  still. 

For  already  three  missionaries  were  stationed  here, 
with  their  families.  During  the  early  sixties  work 
had  been  interrupted  for  two  or  three  years  by  the 
T'ai-p'ing  rebels,  who  left  the  proud  old  city  pitifully 
devastated.  'Now  they  were  overthrown,  through  the 
gallant  and  godly  "Chinese  Gordon,"  and  peace  was 
reestablished.  But  the  ruined  city,  reopened  to  the 
Gospel  in  '64  by  the  saintly  and  now  venerable 
Bishop  Moule,  would  be  long  ere  it  regained  its 
former  magnificence  or  lost  the  traces  of  the  quasi- 
Christian,  but  more  than  semi-heathen,  T'ai-p'ing 
warriors. 

From  Shanghai  it  was  only  nine  days'  journey  to 


110  THESE   FOETY   YEARS, 

the  southwest,  across  a  fertile  and  populous  plain  that 
probably  at  no  very  remote  period  formed  a  delta  of 
the  Yang-tse.  :Nine  days'  journey,  that  is  if  they 
wished  and  were  able  to  travel  steadily  at  an  average 
of  twenty  miles  a  day,  which,  as  things  go  in  China, 
is  speedy  progress.    But  this  they  did  not  wish. 

While  Hang-chau  was  their  main  objective,  they 
hoped  it  might  prove  possible  to  station  some  of  the 
party  in  one  or  more  of  the  many  cities  dotted  over 
the  plain  they  crossed,  in  none  of  which  at  that  time 
were  missionaries  settled. 

During  this  journey  they  became  initiated  into 
some  of  the  mysteries  of  Chinese  life.  Already 
dressed  in  Chinese  costume  they  now  made  their  first 
acquaintance  with  chopsticks,  and  a  very  amusing 
introduction  it  was.  Before  long,  however,  they 
found  themselves  making  good  progress  with  these 
strange  substitutes  for  knife  and  fork. 

Their  surroundings,  moreover,  were  now  strictly 
C.'hinese,  and  so  was  their  rate  of  travel.  Some  days 
they  did  not  make  any  progress  at  all.  The  wind,  per- 
haps, was  contrary.  Other  days,  when  the  wind  was 
all  right,  the  boatmen  had  business  and  needed  to 
delay.  Then,  perhaps,  the  missionaries  wished  to 
stop  at  Kia-hing  or  some  other  important  city,  but 
the  boatmen  were  impatient,  and  were  with  difficulty 
persuaded  to  wait  while  Mr.  Taylor  hunted  for  a 
house. 

After  the  novelty  wore  off  they  discovered  that  the 
boats  were  crowded — close  quarters  for  a  protracted 


THE    FIE8T    FOUR    YEARS.  Ill 

journey,  such  as  this  was  proving.  The  daily  routine 
of  delays  and  inconveniences  was  not  entirely  miti- 
gated by  the  many  employments  that  kept  them  oc- 
cupied; study  of  the  language,  conference  and 
prayer,  and  occasional  talks  from  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Taylor  as  to  the  ways  and  the  customs  of  the  people. 
In  addition  to  their  slow  progress,  before  they  reached 
Hang-chau  the  weather  was  becoming  cold,  and  for 
the  children  and  the  less  robust  adults,  especially  on 
damp  and  rainy  days,  the  draughty  boats  were  scarce- 
ly safe.  The  boatmen,  too,  were  growing  eager  to  re- 
turn home  for  the  winter,  and  the  native  servants, 
less  able  than  the  missionaries  to  put  up  with  hard- 
ship, began  to  talk  of  leaving. 

Glad  indeed  they  were  when  at  last  in  the  distance 
they  sighted  the  great  city  of  Hang-chau.  Here, 
however,  another  difficulty  awaited  them.  Eepeated 
efforts  at  renting  premises,  by  the  way,  had  all 
proved  unsuccessful.  Seeing  that  a  home  for  the 
winter  was  essential,  at  any  rate  for  some  of  the 
party,  very  earnest  prayers  went  up  to  God  that  He 
would  prosper  His  servants  in  this  matter.  And  so, 
at  last,  they  arrived  at  the  suburbs  of  Hang-chau. 
Here  a  series  of  locks  barred  the  way,  and  the  boats 
that  had  been  their  home  for  five  weeks  could  go  no 
further.  Leaving  his  large  party  unobserved  outside 
the  city  Mr.  Taylor  went  on  ahead,  with  prayer  in  his 
heart  and  on  his  Kps,  to  see  what  could  be  done  to 
secure  accommodation. 

Calling  first  on  one  of  the  missionaries,  he  found  a 


112 


THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 


surprise  awaiting  him.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Krejer  was 
away  at  Shanghai  to  be  married,  and  had  left  a 
message  that  if  Mr.  Taylor's  large  party  arrived  be- 
fore his  return  he  hoped  they  would  make  use  of  his 
house,  while  seeking  a  home  of  their  own.  It  was 
still  ^ve  or  six  days  before  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kreyer  were 
expected,  and  with  a  heart  full  of  thankfulness  to 
God  and  to  His  servant  Mr.  Taylor  returned  to  the 
expectant  party  on  the  boats. 

Next  day,  Friday,  November  28th,  the  sixteen 
adults  and  four  children,  with  their  native  com- 
panions, were  transferred  to  smaller  boats  in  which 
they  entered  the  city  unobserved,  and  made  their 
way  to  within  a  block  or  two  of  Mr.  Kreyer^s  home, 
at  the  foot  of  the  beautiful  City  Hill.  As  gloaming 
deepened  into  dusk  the  boats  came  to  a  standstill. 
The  few  business  houses  they  had  passed  were  al- 
ready closed,  and  the  large  party  filed  quietly  along 
one  or  two  silent  streets  to  their  temporary  quarters, 
which  they  reached  without  attracting  attention. 

It  was  not  long  before  they  were  all  comfortably 
settled  in,  and  the  queer  bundles  of  native  bedding 
unrolled — the  men  in  one  part  of  the  house  and  the 
women  in  another,  and  greatly  they  enjoyed  the  re- 
lief of  more  convenient  and  roomy  quarters.  Here 
all  joined  again  in  thanksgiving  to  God  for  this 
gracious  provision  and  asked  with  renewed  con- 
fidence that  He  would  speedily  pro^dde  a  more 
permanent  home,  for  their  kind  host  would  be  re- 
turning the  following  Wednesday  with  his  bride. 


THE   FIRST   FOTTR   YEARS.  113 

On  Saturday  morning,   after  further  waiting  on 
God,  Mr.  Taylor  went  out  with  a  native  helper  to  see 
what  could  be  done  towards  obtaining  a  house,  and 
his  spirits  rose  almost  to  bubbling  over  when  he  found 
that  the  first  place  they  were  taken  to  see  was  exactly 
what  was  needed.     It  may  be  that  the  substantial, 
comfortable  landlord,  or  the  keen,  shrewd  middleman 
read  something  of  this  in  Mr.  Taylor's  face.  Whether 
that  were  so  or  not,  the  price   demanded  was  ex- 
orbitant.   With  courteous  adieux  Mr.  Taylor  and  the 
Chinese    teacher    bowed    themselves    away,    saying 
that  they  were  sorry  to  have  troubled  the  owner,  but 
the  price  was  entirely  beyond  them.     The  rest  of  the 
day  passed  all  too  soon  in  fruitless  searching.     Sun- 
day came    opportunely,    not   only   giving   time   for 
spiritual  refreshment,  but  also  conveying  the  impres- 
sion to  landlord  and  middleman  that  Mr.  Taylor  was 
not  in  any  particular   hurry,   nor   so   eager   as  he 
seemed.    On  Monday  they  started  again  and  still  met 
with  poor  success.    ^N'either  Mr.  Taylor  nor  his  com- 
panion thought  of  returning  to  the  first  place  they 
had  seen,  but  now  Mahomet  came  to  the  mountain, 
since  the  mountain  did  not  come  to  Mahomet !     The 
landlord  and  middleman,  fearing  that  they  might  lose 
their  customer,  sought  out  Mr.  Taylor,  and  that  put 
an  entirely  new  face  on  affairs.     Even  so,  it  was  no 
easy  matter,  and  the  whole  of  Tuesday  was  spent  in 
leisurely  and  closely  calculated  bargaining.     At  last 
the  landlord  came  to  terms,  a  deed  of  rental  was 
drawn  up  and  the  earnest  money  paid,  to  use  the 


114  tHBSi)  FORTY  YEARS. 

Chinese  idiom  "the  pen  being  dropped,  the  bargain 
was  conchided." 

All  now  united  in  thanksgiving,  as  earnestly  as 
they  had  prayed  before.  Preparations  were  complete 
by  Tuesday  evening.  Early  on  Wednesday  morning, 
the  day  the  Kreyers  were  to  return,  long  before  the 
city  was  awake,  they  moved  over  to  the  new  premises 
on  the  Sin-k'ai  Lung,  and  gratefully  took  possession 
of  their  first  Chinese  home.  The  great  city  went  on  as 
usual,  little  imagining  how  large  a  party  of  foreigners 
had  taken  up  residence  among  them. 

At  once,  without  delaying  a  day  to  put  the  house 
in  order,  steady  work  was  commenced  on  the 
language.  The  "quiet  hour''  was  carefully  observed, 
of  private  prayer  and  meditation,  and  daily  all  joined 
in  talking  over  some  portion  of  the  Word,  and  in  glad, 
thankful  waiting  upon  God  for  guidance  as  to  the 
present  and  future  of  the  work. 

The  premises,  naturally,  were  in  the  ordinary  con- 
dition of  unoccupied  houses.  Not  only  was  there 
need  of  cleaning,  but  also  of  repairs.  As  soon  as  they 
were  in  full  swing  of  work,  but  not  before,  these 
household  duties  occupied  their  leisure,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  the  whole  place  began  to  bear  a  de- 
cidedly more  Christian  aspect.  The  men  had  a  staii*- 
case  to  themselves  and  a  quarter  of  the  house  ex- 
clusively their  own,  which  would  commend  itself  to 
any  visitors  who  might  have  the  courage  to  pay  a  call. 
A  chapel  was  fitted  up,  and  places  foimd  for  the 
printing  press  and  the  few  medical  and  surgical  sup- 


THE   FIRST   FOtR   YEARS.  115 

plies  that  Mr.  Taylor  had  brought  on  from  Shanghai. 
A  guest  hall  for  men  and  another  for  women  Avere 
also  furnished,  that  no  one  might  call  without  being 
hospitably  entertained. 

It  was  not  long  before  some  of  the  new  mission- 
aries had  made  sufficient  progress  with  the  language 
to  be  understood,  for  the  four  months  of  the  outward 
journey,  the  stay  in  Shanghai  and  the  long  boat  trip 
had  all  been  utilized  in  study.  For  some  weeks 
several  native  families  remained  in  the  roomy  house, 
while  they  sought,  leisurely  in  point  of  fact,  for  other 
quarters.  With  these  near  neighbors,  of  course,  they 
were  careful  to  cultivate  acquaintance,  and  Miss 
Faulding  soon  persuaded  them  to  take  her  visiting  at 
the  home  of  their  relations.  Indeed,  before  long,  one 
of  these  interested  women  openly  confessed  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  became  a  valuable  coadjutor  in  the 
women's  work.  Thus,  in  at  least  one  convert  ajid  in 
not  a  few  friends  and  acquaintances,  their  patience 
with  their  fellow-lodgers  blossomed  and  bore  fruit. 

Missionary  work  had  begun.  With  much  real, 
hearty  effort  the  time  passed  rapidly.  And  day  by 
day  Mrs.  Taylor's  motherly  concern  for  her  large 
household,  her  uninterrupted  walk  with  God,  and  her 
wisdom  and  good  judgment  endeared  her,  increas- 
ingly, to  all. 

Christmas  soon  came,  and  was  kept  with  rejoicing 
and  thanksgiving.  New  Years  eve — as  it  had  been 
at  home  a  year  before,  so  now  in  the  heart  of  a 
heathen  city — was  spent  in  prayer  and  fasting.  Look- 


116  TfiESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

ing  back  they  acknowledged  with  great  thankfulness 
God's  good  hand  in  many  matters;  and  looking  for- 
ward, they  waited  very  earnestly  on  Him  to  prosper 
each  step  of  the  establishment  of  the  Mission  on  the 
field. 


Yery  abundantly  were  the  prayers  with  which  the 
old  year  closed,  answered,  in  1867.  January  had 
not  passed  before  they  had  the  joy  of  opening  another 
station  at  the  neighboring  city  of  Siao-shan.  At 
first,  though  a  promising  opening  was  found  in  this 
city,  they  were  unable  to  go  forward  on  account  of 
shortness  of  funds,  so,  of  course,  they  applied  to  God 
for  the  money. 

This  came  in  a  remarkable  and  most  unexpected 
way.  Among  their  visitors  at  the  new  home  in 
Hang-chau  had  been  a  more  than  usually  intelligent 
Chinaman,  who  told  them  he  came  from  Singapore. 
There,  of  course,  he  had  been  accustomed  to  foreign- 
ers, but  not  to  such  foreigners — dressed  in  purely 
native  costume,  living  and  eating  and  acting  with  all 
the  refinement  and  courtesy  of  Chinamen.  He  did 
not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  After  one  or  two 
cordial  visits  he  came  no  more.  The  reason  of  this 
proved  to  be  he  had  returned  to  Shanghai.  There  he 
told  a  friend,  a  foreigner,  of  the  missionaries  at 
Hang-chau,  to  whom  he  had  been  so  greatly  drawn. 
His  friend  was  interested  and  tried  to  find  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  China  Inland  Mission  in  Shanghai. 


THE    FIBST   FOTTR   YEARS.  117 

Failing  in  this,  he  handed  a  donation  of  sixty  odd  dol- 
lars to  an  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Gamble's,  through 
whom  it  was  now  forwarded  to  Mr.  Taylor.  With  it 
came  a  message  to  cheer  the  hearts  of  the  workers, 
to  the  effect  that  he  did  not  know  how  sufficiently  to 
admire  their  devotion  and  self-renunciation.  "He 
could  not  imitate  it,  but  he  could  appreciate  it." 
Happy  to  tell,  this  Singapore  Chinaman  was  savingly 
converted  about  this  time  in  the  home  of  the  hospit- 
able Mr.  Gamble  himself. 

Thus  the  Lord  met  the  need  at  Siao-shan,  and  the 
premises  in  question  were  rented;  three  of  the  new 
missionaries  taking  up  residence  at  once.  Before  the 
end  of  the  year  at  this  new  station — a  year  of  many 
vicissitudes,  and  indeed  serious  trouble  for  a  time — 
three  or  four  converts  filled  their  hearts  with  thanks- 
giving. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  with  all  the  responsi- 
bilities of  six  stations,  most  of  them  newly  opened, 
and  of  seven  older  missionaries  besides  his  own  party, 
Mr.  Taylor  was  very  fully  occupied,  and  sometimes 
he  was  confronted  with  questions  of  no  little  gravity. 
In  all  these  matters,  however,  he  shared  his  burdens 
with  the  ever-present  Friend,  Who  cares  and  under- 
stands. 

On  a  visit  to  the  older  stations  Mr.  Taylor  found 
much  cause  for  praise.  At  ISTing-po  there  were  al- 
ready sixty-four  in  membership,  and  others  waiting 
to  be  received.  At  Shao-hing  also,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stevenson   were   making   good   progress   and   were 


118  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

greatly  encouraged  in  the  work.  Yes,  there  wa8 
plenty  to  thank  God  for,  both  now  and  in  the  out- 
look. 

Among  the  early  visitors  at  Shao-hing  was  one  who 
especially  interested  Mr.  Stevenson.  Mr.  Ning  was  a 
scholarly  man  of  good  famil}^;  he  did  not  wish  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  foreigners'  religion,  but 
there  were  things  in  their  scientific  booklets  which 
did  interest  him  greatly  and  he  called  to  gain  further 
information.  This  Mr.  Stevenson  gladly  gave,  and 
then  sought  to  lead  the  conversation  into  another 
channel. 

"Have  you  among  your  foreign  books  one  called 
the  !N"ew  Testament  ?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,''  said  Mr.  Ning,  "I  have.  But  I  must  con- 
fess it  does  not  interest  me.  It  has  no  logical  be- 
ginning, no  consecutive  argument  running  through 
it,  nor  any  peroration  at  the  close.  I  can  make  noth- 
ing of  it." 

"Well,"  Mr.  Stevenson  replied,  "I  am  not  sur- 
prised at  that.  Do  you  know  if  you  could  understand 
that  book  it  would  not  be  worth  the  paper  it  is 
printed  on." 

"I  do  not  exactly  understand  you,"  said  Mr.  Ning 
with  courtesy,  for  he  was  nothing  if  not  a  scholar, 
and  being  often  reminded  of  his  attainments  by  his , 
friends  he  knew  how  to  value  his  literary  reputation. 

Mr.  Stevenson  explained,  "That  book  is  the  book 
of  the  Living  God.  Coming  from  Him  its  teachings 
are  deeper  than  any  man  can  comprehend  unaided. 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    TEARS.  119 

But  if  voii  pray  to  God  for  His  Spint  to  enable  you 
to  understand,  you  will  find  it  a  new  book  and  one  of 
absorbing  interest  and  profit." 

'^Well,''  said  Mr.  IS^ing,  '4f  that  is  not  the  strangest 
thing  I  ever  heard  !  Do  you  expect  me  to  believe  the 
Heavenly  Grandfather  has  leisure  to  attend  to  the 
prayers  of  a  common  man  like  me  ?  Why,  I  could  not 
get  an  audience  with  the  Governor  of  the  province, 
however  much  I  tried,  not  to  mention  the  Emperor. 
How  much  less  with  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
Universe !" 

Mr.  Stevenson  smiled.  ''I  see  you  are  good  at 
arguing,  my  friend;  but  arguing  does  not  alter  facts. 
You  notice  the  kettle  on  the  fire  ?  One  might  argue 
that  fire  and  water  are  opposing  elements ;  that,  more- 
over, they  are  separated  by  the  iron  of  the  kettle. 
How  can  the  fire  and  water  mingle  ?  But  while  the 
argument  goes  forward  the  lid  begins  to  lift  and  puffs 
of  steam  to  issue  from  the  spout.  Before  the  argu- 
ment is  concluded  the  water  is  boiling,  and  I  am 
ready  to  make  you  a  cup  of  tea." 

•'You  also  are  good  at  argument !"  replied  Mr. 
King,  amused. 

^^Try  it,  my  friend.  Ask  God  this  evening  to  give 
you  His  Spirit  that  you  may  be  able  to  understand 
His  Book,  of  which  you  can  make  nothing." 

Again  Mr.  Mng  smiled.  "That  you  must  tell  to 
the  ignorant,  sir,  if  you  wish  to  be  believed.  It  is 
no  use  trying  to  teach  such  doctrines  to  educated 
men."      x\nd   then,    with   many   an   expression   of 


120  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

gratitude   for   the    information   given    and    for   the 
courtesy  extended,  Mr.  Ning  look  his  leave. 

During  supper  he  mused,  as  he  looked  across  at  his 
treasured  books.  ^'That  was  a  strange  notion  of  the 
foreigner's !  How  can  he  possibly  think  an  educated 
man  would  accept  a  theory  like  that  ?  I  will  not  give 
the  matter  another  thought,"  But  when  he  had 
finished  his  supper  an  irresistible  longing  came  over 
him  just  to  glance  at  the  Book.  Mr.  Stevenson  was 
praying, 

"I  will  just  look  at  it,"  he  thought,  and  taking  the 
Kew  Testament  down  he  opened  it,  with  the  words 
"Oh  God,  if  there  be  a  God,  enlighten  my  mind  by 
Thy  Spirit,  that  I  may  be  able  to  understand  this 
book."  And  he  began  to  read.  And  he  continued  to 
read.  The  hours  flew  until  it  was  nearly  midnight. 
His  wife  wondered  that  he  did  not  come  to  rest. 

^T  have  something  important  on  hand  just  now," 
he  said.  "Do  not  wait  for  me.  I  will  come  later." 
And  he  read  on  till  the  small  hours  of  the  morning. 

N^ext  evening,  the  day's  duties  over,  he  again  took 
down  the  once  despised  New  Testament  and  became 
absorbed  in  its  wonderful  story.  Again  he  read  half 
the  night.  And  before  long  the  proud  Confucianist 
was  a  confessed  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"Wife,"  he  said  one  morning — he  had  been  want- 
ing to  speak  for  days  but  had  lacked  the  courage,  for 
she  belonged  to  a  haughty  and  aristocratic  family — 
"Wife,  I  have  something  I  should  like  to  say  to  you 
this  evening,  when  the  children  are  in  bed."  He  put 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  121 

off  the  difficult  moment  as  long  as  he  could,  and  when 
the  time  arrived  his  wife  had  to  come  to  the  rescue,  as 
a  w^oman  often  does. 

'^Didn't  you  want  to  speak  to  me  this  evening?" 

''Why,  yes,"  he  said,  "come  into  my  study."  And 
there  they  sat,  he  on  the  left  side,  and  she  sat  on  the 
right,  the  lower,  as  in  wifely  duty  bound. 

•'Well,"  she  asked,  again  coming  to  his  help,  "what 
is  it  that  you  want  to  say  to  me  ?" 

"It  is  this,"  he  replied,  with  a  good  deal  of  inward 
trepidation,  "do  you  know  I  have  discovered  that 
there  is  a  true  God  after  all." 

"Have  you?"  she  said.  "Why  that  is  good  news! 
You  remember  the  time  when  those  terrible  T'ai- 
p'ing  rebels  captured  our  city  and  broke  into  our 
home?  I  was  alone,  and  hid  in  the  wardrobe  and 
tried  to  pray;  but  who  should  I  pray  to?  The  T'ai- 
p'ings  were  stronger  than  the  gods,  for  they  de- 
stroyed them  everywhere.  So  I  prayed  to  the 
Heavenly  Grandfather  that  He  would  take  pity  on 
me,  a  poor  defenceless  woman,  and  not  let  me  fall 
into  the  hands  of  those  ruthless  ruffians.  With  noisy 
steps  they  went  through  the  house.  They  rushed 
into  the  room.  They  went  all  over,  opening  boxes  and 
searching  in  every  comer,  and  then  suddenly  went 
off  without  touching  the  wardrobe.  I  have  often 
wondered  whether  after  all  there  is  not  a  Living  God, 
who  heard  my  prayer  and  pitied  me.  Do  tell  me  all 
about  it." 

Before  long  Mrs.  Mng  was  as  earnest  a  believer 


122  THESE    FORTY    TEARS. 

as  her  husband.  Having  won  his  wife,  Mr.  Mng 
went  on  to  his  neighbors,  and  the  more  he  spoke  of 
his  new  found  Friend  the  fuller  of  gladness  and  bless- 
ing his  heart  became.  Until  one  day,  speaking  on  the 
street  with  a  neighbor,  a  little  knot  of  interested 
strangers  stood  to  listen,  and  before  he  knew  it  Mr. 
Mng  was  holding  his  first  open-air  meeting !  In  this 
he  enjoyed  great  liberty,  and  realized  that  he  was 
getting  an  unexpected  opportunity  of  serving  his  new 
Lord  and  Master. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Ning,  the  talented  B.A.,  was 
actually  preaching  the  "foreign  devils'  religion"  on 
the  street  became  a  public  scandal.  The  chief 
magistrate  of  the  city  called  informally  to  re- 
monstrate with  the  scholar,  and  after  a  short  pre- 
liminary conversation,  said,  "If  you  must  believe  this 
foreign  faith,  why  do  so,  but  do  not  bring  disgrace 
upon  your  name  by  forgetting  yourself  in  this 
fashion!  Whatever  is  it  that  makes  you  tell  every- 
body you  meet  about  these  things  V^ 

"The  fact  is,"  Mr.  Ning  replied,  "I  am  so  full  of 
the  good  news  that  I  cannot  keep  it  in !  I  must  tell 
what  the  Lord  Jesus  has  done  for  me ;  what  gladness 
He  has  put  into  my  life,  and  how  He  has  washed 
away  my  sins  and  given  me  hope  of  endless  happiness 
in  Heaven."  And  from  that  beginning  he  preached 
Jesus  Christ  to  the  magistrate,  who  was  glad  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment  to  beat  a  dignified  retreat ! 

Meeting  next  day  the  chancellor  of  the  university, 
the    magistrate    drew   his    attention    to    the    extra- 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    TEARS.  123 

ordinary  behavior  of  his  "disciple."  "I  will  call  upon 
him/'  the  proud  chancellor  replied,  with  confidence, 
^'and  persuade  him  of  his  foUv.  The  very  idea  of  a 
folloAver  of  Confucius  falling  in  with  these  new- 
fangled notions  of  the  foreign  immigrants !"  Before 
long  he  also  had  heard  the  Gospel  story. 

heedless  to  say  that  the  work  went  forward  and 
grew  under  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevenson's  care  with  such 
earnest  and  able  fellow-workers  as  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
King. 

All  being  now  in  working  order  at  Hang-chau  Mr. 
Taylor,  on  his  return,  opened  a  dispensary,  which 
rapidly  became  very  popular  among  the  poorer 
people,  and  frequently  attracted  well-to-do  members 
of  the  community  who  heard  of  wonderful  cures  per- 
formed. This  medical  work  was  the  means  of  dis- 
arming prejudice  and  gaining  sympathy  and  con- 
fidence. Its  chief  end,  of  course,  was  spiritual,  and 
that  was  attained  in  no  small  degree.  The  aver- 
age daily  attendance  at  this  dispensary  was  two 
hundred,  which  meant,  of  course,  an  immense 
amount  of  work  for  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  native 
assistants. 

One  afternoon  in  this  month  of  February,  1867, 
Avhile  Mr.  Taylor  was  engaged  in  a  preliminary 
service  for  the  patients,  imagine  his  delight  and  sur- 
prise to  see  walk  right  into  the  waiting-room  strangers 
from  England,  reinforcements  for  the  work.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  McCarthy  and  their  children,  and  Miss 
McLean    had    just    arrived    from    Shanghai.      Mr. 


124  THESE  FORTY  YEAES. 

Taylor  rejoiced  to  see  them,  as  they  saw  by  a  glance 
at  his  face,  but  there  was  a  room  full  of  patients  who 
must  be  seen  that  afternoon,  especially  as  next 
day  was  Sunday,  when  none  but  urgent  cases  could 
be  seen.  Glad  indeed  were  the  new  arrivals  to  see 
such  signs  of  progress,  and  very  heartily  they  wrote 
home  of  their  unceremonious  welcome  and  of  the 
"large  number  of  benighted  heathen  listening  at- 
tentively to  the  story  of  the  Cross;  of  the  wonderful 
smile  on  the  face  of  some  poor  creature  conscious  of 
sight  being  gradually  restored,  or  the  gladness  of 
the  palsied  man  as  he  felt  his  limbs  regaining 
strength.'^ 

Before  many  moments  Mr.  McCarthy  was  busily 
engaged  in  mixing  medicines  and  helping  in  various 
ways.  How  glad  they  were  to  see  the  work  so 
prosperous,  ^ext  day,  Sunday,  the  chapel  was 
crowded.  "Mr.  Taylor,  mounted  on  a  chair  in  order 
to  be  better  heard,  explained  the  nature  of  our  meet- 
ing and  of  our  worship — that  there  is  no  visible  form 
to  bow  to,  no  incense,  no  silver  paper,  no  candles,  but 
the  great  invisible  God  HimseK  is  present,  noticing 
all  we  do  and  say  and  think. 

"Then  after  singing  a  hymn  and  engaging  in 
prayer,  when  all  the  people  rose  as  requested  and 
stood  very  still,  a  portion  of  the  Gospel  story  was 
chosen,  which  Mr.  Taylor  explained  and  illustrated, 
bringing  each  point  home  to  tJiem,^^ 

The  following  Sunday  also  "the  chapel  was 
crowded  both  morning  and  evening,  and  the  people 


THE    FIRST    FOUR   YEARS.  126 

were  not  only  quiet  and  attentive  but  apparently  very 
interested." 

As  the  months  went  on  there  soon  arose  the 
''happy  necessity  of  holding  a  meeting''  for  inquirers, 
and  ere  long  the  first  six  converts  were  received  into 
the  church  amid  general  rejoicing. 

Shortly  after  this  the  first  serious  blow  fell  on  the 
Mission.  A  devoted  and  greatly  beloved  brother,  Mr. 
Sell,  was  called  Home  from  ]!^ing-po.  He  had  been 
much  used  of  God  on  the  'Tammermuir"  in  winning 
souls,  and  great  hopes  were  entertained  for  his  use- 
fulness in  China. 

In  addition  to  the  daily  sewing  meeting  held  by 
Mrs.  Taylor,  regular  house-to-house  visitation  was 
carried  on  by  the  ladies.  ''In  many  houses,  in  every 
direction,"  wrote  Mr.  Taylor,  "our  sisters  have  free 
access  to  the  women.  ^'  ^'  *  In  its  actual  influ- 
ence upon  the  people  at  large  I  am  strongly  inclined 
to  consider  this  the  most  powerful  agency  we  have." 

"It  is  such  a  joy  to  be  so  welcome,"  wrote  Miss 
Faulding.  "I  have  only  to  go  out  and  pass  along  the 
street  and  houses  are  open  to  me.  Truly  God  is  giv- 
ing this  people  an  ear  to  hear." 

The  adoption  of  native  dress  was  found  a  real  help 
in  gaining  access  to  the  people,  as  many  of  the  home 
letters  testify.  Only  one  brief  extract  from  Mrs. 
Taylor's  pen  need  be  quoted:  "Notwithstanding 
much  that  is  said  to  the  contrary,  I  am  satisfied  that 
our  Chinese  dress  gives  us  a  decided  advantage.  It 
brings  us  nearer  to  the  people,  whom  above  all  things 


126  THESE   FORTY   TEARS. 

we  desire  to  reach,  not  to  hold  at  a  distance.  Before 
leaving  England  I  had  some  misgivings  about  ladies 
wearing  the  Chinese  dress,  on  this  ground,  that  the 
Chinese  despise  their  own  women  while  they  respect 
foreigners.  Would  they  treat  us  with  the  same  defer- 
ence, and  should  we  have  as  much  weight  with  them 
were  we  to  change  our  dress.  I  have  found  no  reason 
for  retaining  this  misgiving.  On  the  contrary,  I  am 
satisfied  that  force  of  character,  education  and 
Christian  principle  give  us  an  influence  with  the 
natives  of  both  sexes  which  neither  wearing  our  own 
dress  could  impart,  nor  adopting  the  Chinese  could 
take  away.  For  myself  I  have  been  treated  with 
quite  as  much  respect  in  the  latter  as  in  the  former." 
^'E"o  mightier  power,"  Mr.  Taylor  wrote,  "has 
been  entrusted  to  us  than  that  of  the  true  sympathy 
which  identifies  itself  with  those  whom  it  seeks  to 
benefit  and  carries  captive  the  heart.  And  to  get 
close  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  is  our  great 
aim;  to  win  their  confidence  and  love  our  daily  ob- 
ject. To  effect  this  we  seek,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
meet  them  in  costume,  in  language,  in  manners.  And 
to  us  this  course  is  not  only  advantageous,  it  is  indis- 
pensable. No  lady  in  foreign  dress  could  visit  here 
as  our  sisters  do  in  the  native  costume.  And,  more- 
over, we  conceive  that  in  this  we  are  follovdng  the 
example  of  the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  who 
became  all  things  to  all  men  that  he  might  gain  the 
more.  And  further,  that  we  are  treading  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Him  Who  to  save  men  became  a  man;  Who 


tttfe   FIEST   FOUE   YIJABS.  127 

to  minister  especially  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel  was  made  one  under  the  law — made  one  in  all 
points  not  sinful,  with  the  objects  of  His  ministry." 
;N'ow  came  the  anniversary  of  the  sailing  of  the 
^'Lammermuir''  from  England,  the  first  birthday  of 
the  little  Mission.  In  a  brief  letter  to  Mr.  Berger, 
Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  writes  of  the  first  year  of  service : 
"Burdens  such  as  I  have  never  before  sustained,  re- 
sponsibilities such  as  I  have  not  heretofore  incurred 
and  sorrow^s  compared  wdth  which  past  sorrows  have 
been  light,  have  entered  into  my  experience  during 
this  year.  But  I  trust  that  I  have  learned,  in  some 
measure,  the  blessed  truth : 

"  'Sufficient  is  His  arm  alone, 
And  our  defense  is  sure.' 

"I  have  long  felt  that  our  Mission  has  a  baptism  to 
be  baptized  with.  It  may  not  yet  be  past.  It  may  be 
heavier  than  we  can  foresee.  But  if  by  His  grace  we 
are  kept  faithful,  in  the  end  all  will  be  well.  May 
the  Lord  sustain  and  strengthen  you,  dear  brother,  in 
your  department  of  this  service;  such  is  our  daily 
prayer." 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  the  following  month  of 
June  Mr.  Taylor  started  on  an  evangelistic  tour  with 
the  double  purpose  of  preaching  the  Gospel  and  of 
locating,  if  posible,  Mr.  McCarthy  and  Mr.  Duncan 
at  two  principal  cities  up  the  lovely,  rapid  Ts'ien- 
t'ang  river.  Scores  of  thousands  of  miles  have  been 
traveled  since  bv  the  members  of  the  China  Inland 


128  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Mission  on  similar  preaching  journeys,  but  this  was 
the  first.  Mr.  Tsiu,  a  native  evangelist  of  spirit  and 
devotion,  went  with  them,  and  two  Christian 
servants.  They  embarked  in  the  afternoon  of  a  long, 
hot  summer  day.  *'Our  fellow  passengers  we  found 
some  lying  and  some  siting  about,  others  eating  or 
smoking,  and  almost  all  chatting,  the  foreigners  in 
their  dress  forming  the  staple  subject  of  conversa- 
tion.'^ As  soon  as  they  had  weighed  anchor  they  took 
their  "supper  in  truly  primitive  style,  and  commended 
ourselves  to  the  care  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  and 
then  settled  down  for  the  night,  enjoying  the  beauti- 
ful moonlight  and  the  cool,  favorable  breeze — and 
no  mosquitoes !'' 

"Toward  morning  we  awaked  to  find  that  the  wind 
had  fallen  and  five  or  six  of  the  boatmen  were  towing 
with  long  ropes.  Having  refreshed  ourselves  with 
the  usual  Chinese  wash  in  hot  water,  '"  ^  "^^  we 
had  morning  prayers  together,  the  music  of  the  well- 
known  hymn  ^There  is  a  Happy  Land'  resounding 
through  the  boat  and  attracting  the  attention  of  the 
passengers.  Mr.  Taylor  having  asked  the  Lord's 
blessing,  selected  a  portion  of  Scripture  and  took  the 
opportunity  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  many  of  those 
present  listening  attentively  and  evidently  under- 
standing what  was  said." 

After  two  days  of  travel  in  this  and  another  boat 
they  were  delayed  at  Dong-li,  in  the  midst  of  mag- 
nificent scenery,  for  several  days,  till  the  flooded  river 
should  be  less  turbulent.     Of  course  they  availed 


THE    FIRST    FOUR   YEARS.  129 

themselves  of  the  delay  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the 
tea  shops  of  the  city.  And  many  an  attentive  audi- 
ence they  gained. 

Now  continuing  their  journey  up  the  beautiful 
Chih-li  gorge,  they  seized  each  opportunity  of  deliv- 
ering their  message  in  towns  and  villages,  in  some  of 
which  they  were  treated  with  much  courtesy. 

At  one  place  it  was  necessary  to  replenish  their 
stock  of  provisions.  A  strange  procession  they  made 
on  their  return.  ^Tirst  came  Mr.  Duncan,  his  shaven 
crown  protected  by  a  white  straw  hat  of  considerable 
dimensions,  covering  head  and  shoulders  as  well;  in 
one  hand  a  palm  leaf  fan  and  in  the  other  a  live  cock 
which  he  had  secured  for  dinner.  Next  came  Mr. 
Taylor  with  other  purchases  under  his  arms,  and  in 
the  same  headgear;  followed  by  myself,  with  a 
thousand  cash,  change  of  a  dollar,  slung  around  my 
neck.  Our  gowns  had  once  been  white,  but  alas,  a 
week's  wear  and  traveling  had  changed  their  color 
considerably.  We  were  glad  to  get  back  to  the  boat, 
and  were  soon  refreshed  by  hot  tea  and  bathing  our 
faces  in  hot  water.'' 

At  the  prefectural  city  or  'Tu"  of  Yen-chau  a 
place  was  rented,  and  Mr.  McCarthy  remained  with 
a  native  helper.  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Duncan  con- 
tinued their  journey  up  river  as  far  as  Lan-k'i,  an  im- 
portant and  prosperous  commercial  center,  but 
notoriously  wicked.  As  they  tracked  up  the  stream 
Mr.  Taylor  wrote  home  of  their  experiences,  and 
added : 


130  THESE  FORTY  TEABS. 

'*!  trust  that  during  this  year  we  shall  be  able  to 
commence  several  new  stations.  Mr.  Meadows  is 
going  with  Mr.  Jackson  into  another  of  the  unoccu- 
pied Fu  cities  of  this  province,  after  which  I  hope  to 
go  with  him  into  the  adjoining  province  to  see  how 
the  land  lies.  It  is  now  the  twenty-third  day  since 
we  left  Hang-chau  and  nearly  ten  days  since  we  had 
any  tidings.  Absence  from  so  large  a  family,  old  and 
young,  at  this  time  of  year,  and  with  whooping- 
cough  in  the  house,  casts  one  much  on  the  Lord,  but 
this,  after  all,  is  a  position  of  both  peace  and  safety." 

At  Lan-k'i,  always  full  of  visitors  on  business,  house 
accommodation  was  hard  to  find.  But  a  JSTing-po  man, 
residing  in  the  town,  delighted  at  hearing  his  own 
dialect  spoken  fluently  by  a  foreigner,  helped  them. 
And  of  the  lodging  thus  obtained  Mr.  Taylor  wrote 
next  day,  as  he  journeyed  do^vn  the  river :  ^^I  left  Mr. 
Duncan  in  what  we  consider  comfortable  lodgings  for 
a  traveler — that  is  to  say,  there  is  a  roof  over  his 
head,  more  or  less  leaky  of  course,  but  still  a  roof;  a 
floor  under  his  feet,  and  not  a  floor  only,  but  rich  ac- 
cumulations of  dirt  in  addition,  which  might  only  be 
partially  removed  by  continued  exertions.  There  is 
also  a  window-shutter  at  one  side  of  the  house,  if  no 
window;  and  being  so  well  supplied  in  this  respect  it 
would  be  very  uncalled-for  censure  were  we  to  com- 
plain of  the  absence  of  both  door  and  window  at  the 
other  end  of  the  room;  the  more  so  that  in  the  event 
of  rain  beating  in  beyond  endurance  it  is  easy  to  nail 
up  a  few  pieces  of  matting,  which  lie  folded  together 


THE    FIRST    FOUK   YEARS.  131 

awaiting  such  an  emergency.  The  room  labors  under 
the  slight  disadvantage  of  lacking  a  chinmey,  as  our 
poor  eyes  well  know  when  the  worthy  old  cook  pre- 
pares our  meals.  In  this  respect,  however,  it  is  only 
like  every  other  room  of  the  kind  in  this  place,  and 
I  may  add  in  all  other  places  here.  As  to  its 
furniture,  it  contained  five  bedsteads  for  Mr.  Dun- 
can and  myself,  Mr.  Tsiu  and  our  two  servants.  (We 
have  two  with  us  because  when  separated  we  each 
need  one.)  These  bedsteads  are  made  of  two  bamboo 
trestles — value,  three-pence  the  pair — and  unplaned 
deal  planks  or  a  bamboo  frame  resting  upon  them. 
On  these,  being  inclined  to  make  them  as  comfort- 
able as  possible,  we  placed  our  railway-rugs  for  soft- 
ness, covering  them  with  mats  for  coolness'  sake. 
This,  with  a  pillow  and  mosquito  curtains,  completes 
our  bedding.  Besides  these  articles  for  the  night  we 
boast  a  table,  a  stool,  and  a  plank  supported  by  two 
trestles  instead  of  a  form.  And  I  must  not  forget  to 
mention  that,  not  satisfied  with  the  above  supply  of 
furniture,  Mr.  Dimcan  has  gone  to  the  lavish  ex- 
penditure of  six-pence,  and  purchased  himself  a  chair. 
I  think  I  have  now  enumerated  most  of  the  contents 
of  the  room — the  stove  is  carried  in  and  out  as  oc- 
casion requires — and  yet  I  fear  that  you  will  be  able 
to  form  but  a  poor  idea  of  our  position  after  all.  The 
Lord  has  prospered  us  in  enabling  us  to  get  a  native 
teacher,  and  Mr.  Duncan  is  hard  at  work  with  him. 
It  is  his  intention  to  go  out  each  afternoon  to  the 
temples  and  tea  shops  to  sell  portions  of  Scripture 


132  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

and  tracts  and  to  talk  to  the  people/'  which  required 
not  a  little  courage  after  so  few  months  in  the 
country;  but  courage  was  a  virtue  which  Duncan  did 
not  lack ! 

Traveling  down  the  Ts'ien-t'ang  by  passenger  boat 
Mr.  Taylor  had  many  opportunities  by  the  way,  and 
one  evening  preached  to  his  neighbors  till  he  Avas 
tired.  '^ After  a  short  prayer,  I  concluded;  but  no 
one  moved  away.  They  seemed  to  want  to  hear 
more  of  this  new  story.  I  commenced  again,  and 
after  talking  for  a  long  while,  again  ceased.  Still  no 
one  moved.  A  few  leading  questions  were  asked,  and 
once  more  I  spoke  to  them  at  length." 

At  Hang-chau  it  was  encouraging  to  find  the  work 
progressing  steadily,  and  the  native  Christians  show- 
ing an  increasing  desire  to  spread  the  Gospel  them- 
selves. Already  the  little  church  numbered  eighteen 
members,  besides  fourteen  applicants  for  baptism. 
Wang,  the  young  man  who  had  accompanied  Mr. 
Taylor  to  England,  was  now  ordained  as  pastor,  and 
three  deacons  were  appointed  at  the  same  time.  To 
that  church,  which  continued  to  grow  steadily,  if 
slowly  at  times  (until,  when  the  writer  was  there 
eight  years  ago,  there  were  more  than  two  hundred 
members),  Mr.  Wang  ministered  with  great  accept- 
ance and  blessing  until  his  last  illness,  only  a  year  or 
two  ago.  He  was  not  only  an  earnest  and  inde- 
fatigable worker,  but  a  truly  consecrated  man.  He 
did  not  accept  a  salary,  but  lived  like  his  colleagues, 
the  missionaries,  in  simple  dependence  upon  God. 


THE    FIEST    FOUR   TEARS.  133 

That  his  needs  were  amply  met — ^largely  apart  from 
the  Mission — is  evidenced  by  the  following  little  in- 
cident: About  the  year  1894  Mr.  Wang  came  up  to 
Shanghai  for  conference  with  Mr.  Taylor  about  a 
matter  that  had  long  been  on  his  heart.  Living  al- 
ways with  scrupulous  economy,  which  is  a  great 
recommendation  of  the  Gospel  among  a  poverty- 
stricken  people  like  the  Chinese,  Mr.  Wang  had  been 
able  to  save,  during  twenty-seven  years,  a  sum  of  a 
thousand  Mexican  dollars.  His  son-in-law,  Mr.  Ken, 
who  had  been  for  years  co-pastor  to  the  Hang-chau 
Church,  had  a  considerable  family,  and  Mr.  Wang 
had  asked  him  to  accept  this  money  and  use  it  to  com- 
plete the  education  of  his  children. 

'^No,"  said  Ren,  ^'the  Lord  has  always  amply  sup- 
plied our  needs.  I  had  far  rather  this  money  should 
be  used  in  a  way  that  I  know  will  give  you  still 
greater  pleasure,  in  opening  up  to  the  Gospel  fresh 
parts  of  our  needy  country.*'  So  Mr.  Wang  had 
brought  the  thousand  dollars  to  Mr.  Taylor,  and 
closeted  alone  with  him  handed  it  over.  We  can  im- 
agine the  feelings  with  which  Mr.  Taylor  accepted 
this  generous  donation! 

But  the  great  heat  of  that  first  summer  told  on  the 
health  of  some  of  the  band  of  workers.  In  the  height 
of  the  summer  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  took  a  little 
party  for  a  few  days'  rest  among  the  mountains,  in  a 
temple  where  they  rented  rooms.  They  reached 
their  destination  too  late  on  Saturday  night  to  go 
ashore,  and  therefore  spent  Sunday  on  their  boats. 


134  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

In  the  cool  of  the  evening  they  went  for  a  walk,  and 
"on  the  way  my  eldest  child,  only  eight  years  old,  saw 
for  the  first  time  a  man  making  an  idol.  The  sight 
grieved  her  to  the  heart.  She  looked  into  my  face 
and  said,  ^Oh,  papa,  that  man  does  not  know  Jesus. 
He  would  never  make  an  ugly  idol  if  he  did!  Do 
tell  him  about  Jesus.'  I  had  not  so  much  faith,  as  to 
the  result  of  the  message,  as  my  dear  child,  but  I 
stopped  and  told  the  man  the  story  of  God's  great 
love.  Then  we  went  on.  After  we  had  gone  a  little 
way  we  sat  down  under  the  trees,  and  I  said  to  my 
dear  child,  seeing  that  her  heart  was  burdened,  'What 
shall  we  sing,  Gracie,  dear  V  She  said,  ^Let  us  have 
'*Kock  of  Ages,  Cleft  for  Me."  '  We  sang  a  hymn 
and  then  I  said  to  her,  ^Will  you  pray  first  V  She  did 
so,  and  I  never  heard  such  a  prayer  as  she  offered. 
She  had  seen  the  man  making  an  idol.  Her  heart 
was  full,  and  she  prayed  to  God  on  his  behalf.  The 
dear  child  went  on  and  on,  pleading  that  God  would 
have  mercy  on  the  poor  Chinese,  and  would 
strengthen  her  papa  to  preach  to  them.  I  was  never 
so  moved.  My  heart  was  bowed  before  God.  Words 
fail  me  to  describe  it. 

^'N"ext  morning  I  was  summoned  to  see  a  sick  mis- 
sionary at  a  distance,  and  had  to  leave  my  loved  ones. 
When  I  came  back  my  dear  child  was  ill  and  un- 
conscious, and  she  never  recognized  me  again.  Those 
prayers  for  the  poor  Chinese  were  almost  the  last 
words  I  heard  her  speak." 

Writing  at  this  time,  Mr.  Taylor  said :  "It  was  no 


THE    FUtST    FOUK   TEABS.  136 

vain  nor  unintelligent  act  when,  knowing  this  land, 
its  people  and  climate,  I  laid  my  precious  wife  and 
children,  with  myself,  on  the  altar  of  consecration 
for  this  service.  And  He  Whom  we  have  been  seek- 
ing to  serve    .      .      .    has  not  left  us  now. 

"Beloved  brother,  the  Lord  has  taken  our  sweet 
little  Gracie  to  blossom  in  the  purer  atmosphere  of 
His  ovm  presence.    Our  hearts  bleed,  but 

"  'Above  the  rest  this  note  shall  swell, 
Our  Jesus  doeth  all  things  well.*  " 

"When  all  was  over,"  writes  Miss  Bowyer,  "it  was 
truly  wonderful  to  see  the  calmness  with  which  prep- 
arations were  made  for  returning  to  Hang-chau,  and 
at  midnight,  three  hours  later,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor, 
Miss  Blatchley  and  Mr.  Williamson  started  with  theii* 
precious  charge,  no  one  suspecting  what  they  carried. 

"We  all  followed  next  day." 

And  so  our  Gracie  obeyed  the  old,  sweet  invita- 
tion :  "Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and 
forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven."  May  God  give  us  like  childlike  faith  and 
like  keen  perception  of  the  degradation  of  idolatry, 
and  of  the  heathen's  need  of  Jesus  Christ. 

*  *  -x-  -x-  -x-  *  * 

About  Rye  days'  journey  due  south  from  ]N'ing-po, 
well  up  the  estuary  of  another  mountain  stream, 
stands  the  handsome  old  city  of  T'ai-chau,  center  of 
the  prefecture  of  that  name. 

It  was  the  height  of  summer  when  Mr.  Meadows, 


136  THESE  FORTY  TEARS. 

senior  member  of  the  Mission  (next  to  Mr.  Tay- 
lor), and  Mr.  Jackson  set  out  from  Ning-po  on 
the  long-proposed  attempt  to  open  T'ai-chau  to 
the  Gospel.  Many  prayers  had  gone  up  for  their 
success,  and  it  was  with  hearts  full  of  hope  that  the 
two  missionaries  started  on  their  way.  A  day  by 
boat  brought  them  to  Fung-hua,  the  second  oldest 
station.  Here  they  found  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crombie 
vmrking  steadily  in  peace  and  safety.  Four  more 
days  overland  brought  them,  as  the  sun  was  setting, 
to  their  destination,  which  they  found  to  be  a  large 
and  well-built  city,  surrounded  on  almost  every  side 
by  hills.  Here,  without  any  great  difficulty,  they 
succeeded  in  renting  a  house,  in  which  Jackson  re- 
mained with  a  native  helper,  entertaining  day  after 
day  large  numbers  of  curious  and  interested  visitors. 
As  usual,  there  was  opposition  at  first,  but  prayer 
was  answered,  and  soon  all  was  quiet  and  peace- 
ful. Mr.  Jackson,  however,  was  very  glad  of  a  visit, 
a  few  weeks  later,  from  Mr.  Taylor,  who  found  him 
living  just  like  a  Chinaman,  and  through  his  constant 
intercourse  with  the  people,  making  rapid  progress 
with  the  language.  Not  long  after  Mr.  Taylor's  re- 
turn, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cardwell  came  to  join  Mr.  Jack- 
son at  T'ai-chau,  where  he  remained  without  further 
serious  trouble  until  1870,  when  he  went  south  to 
Wen-chau,  the  next  prefectural  city,  to  help  Mr. 
Stott  in  the  rapidly-growing  work  at  that  center. 

Shortly  after  T'ai-chau  was  opened,  George  Dun- 
can, having  returned  from  Lan-k'i,  turned  his  face 


THE    FIRST    rOHR    TEARS.  137 

northward  and  visited  the  two  capitals  of  Kiang-su, 
Su-chau  and  Nankin,  at  the  latter  of  which  he  was, 
if  possible,  to  settle.  He  was  much  impressed  on  this 
journey  with  the  great  cities  he  found  without  a  wit- 
ness for  the  Master,  and  especially  with  Su-chau 
itself,  famous  all  over  the  empire  for  its  magnificence, 
and  linked  with  Hang-chau  by  general  consent  as  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  cities  in  the  world. 

"Above  Is  T'ien-t'ang  (heaven), 
Below  are  Su  Hang"  (these  two  cities). 

His  journey  up  the  Grand  Canal  past  this  impor- 
tant city  brought  him  in  due  course  to  Chin-kiang, 
now  one  of  the  best  known  cities  on  the  Yang-tse,  but 
at  that  time  without  a  missionary.  From  here  he 
turned  westward  up  the  Yang-tse,  traveling  still  by 
native  boat,  until  he  reached  ISTankin,  the  old  metrop- 
olis of  the  empire. 

For  ten  years  Nankin  had  been  the  capital  of  the 
short-lived  T'ai-p^ing  dynasty,  and  Mr.  Duncan  found 
its  immense  area,  averaging  twelve  miles  across, 
largely  in  ruins,  and  a  population  at  that  time  of 
not  more  than  half  a  million.  But  already  the  in- 
domitable energy  of  its  inhabitants  was  making  itself 
felt.  The  city  was  rapidly  regaining  its  former 
prestige  and  position. 

No  missionary  had  ever  been  established  here,  and 
Mr.  Duncan  naturally  expected  difficulty  in  com- 
mencing work.  To  his  surprise  he  was  cordially 
welcomed  by  the  officials,  who,  after  a  long  and 


138  THESE  FORTT  TEAKS. 

friendly  interview,  invited  him  to  stay  to  dinner, 
whicli  for  courtesy's  sake  he  thought  it  wise  to  ac- 
cept. Later  on  he  discovered  that  while  he  was  being 
so  hospitably  entertained  messengers  were  going 
around  to  every  inn  in  the  city,  promising  the  land- 
lords all  sorts  of  punishment  if  they  dared  receive 
the  foreign  devil.  But  many  prayers  were  going  up, 
and  about  sundown  he  found  himself  at  the  old 
^^drum-tower,"  the  ancient  fire-alarm  of  the  city. 
This  was  not  a  regular  hostelry,  and  had  been  over- 
looked by  the  hospitable  mandarins. 

The  old  priest  was  friendly  and  for  a  consideration 
willingly  permitted  the  tall,  fair  stranger  to  remain 
in  one  of  the  iipper  rooms,  on  condition  that  he  left 
at  sunrise  and  did  not  return  until  after  sundown. 
As  it  was  mid-autumn  this  was  no  great  trial  to  a 
man  of  Duncan's  physique  and  force  of  character. 
The  days  he  spent  where  he  could,  preaching  the 
Gospel  and  selling  tracts,  or  engaging  in  conversa- 
tion with  all  who  would  listen,  getting  his  meals  in 
the  tea  shops  and  restaurants  of  the  city. 

After  awhile,  finding  Duncan  a  harmless  sort  of 
man,  the  authorities  ceased  to  pay  him  much  atten- 
tion, and  he  succeeded,  before  winter  had  com^ 
menced,  in  renting  half  of  a  small  dwelling  house. 
The  entire  premises  consisted  of  one  room  with  an 
attic  over  it,  each  being  about  twenty  feet  by  twelve. 
The  house  was  divided,  fairly,  into  two  strips  twenty 
feet  by  six.  The  upper  half  room  was  Mr.  Duncan's 
bedroom,  and  the  lower  was  chapel  and  guest-hall. 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  139 

Against  each  wall  a  long  form  was  ranged,  and  at 
the  far  end  of  the  room  a  table  and  a  chair  for  the 
preacher  completed  the  furnishings  downstairs.  Be- 
ing separated  from  his  landlord's  family  by  so  light 
a  partition,  and  the  lady  of  the  house  being  a  woman 
of  spirit  and  considerable  vigor  of  speech,  Mr.  Dun- 
can had  ample  opportunities  of  hearing  the  vernac- 
ular, including  many  expressions  in  which  he  was  suf- 
liciently  initiated  not  to  use  in  preaching.  Here  on 
rainy  days  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  all  who  could 
crowd  into  the  guest-room,  and  when  the  weather 
was  fine  the  tea  shops,  the  temples  and  the  vacant 
spaces  of  the  city  were  his  favorite  resorts.  Some 
would  come  to  hear  the  Gospel;  to  others  the  Gospel 
must  be  taken. 

Thus,  rapidly,  the  weeks  passed,  and  the  exchequer 
began  to  run  low.  Mr.  Taylor  made  repeated  at- 
tempts to  send  money,  and  Mr.  Duncan  at  Nankin 
tried  to  find  out  some  method  by  which  it  could  be 
transmitted,  but  all  without  avail.  Mr.  Taylor  be- 
came seriously  concerned,  lest  Brother  Duncan 
should  really  be  in  need.  He  knew  his  heroic  build, 
physical  and  mental,  and  was  cei-tain  that  he  would 
not  leave  the  city  if  by  any  possible  means  he  could 
continue  to  hold  out.  Many  a  time  Mr.  Taylor  would 
rise  in  the  night,  unable  to  sleep,  and  very  remark- 
ably the  Lord  heard  and  answered  prayer.  Trained 
from  childhood  in  economy,  the  Scotchman  made  the 
money  go  as  far  as  ever  it  would,  but  one  day  his 
cook  said: 


140  THESE    FORTY    TEARS. 

"Teacher,  we  have  had  our  breakfast,  but  there  is 
nothing  for  supper  and  all  the  money  ia  gone.  What 
shall  we  do?" 

Mr.  Duncan  smiled  at  the  man's  eagerness  and 
said:  "My  good  fellow,  I  will  tell  you  what  we  shall 
do.  We  will  trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good :  so  shall 
we  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  we  shall  be  fed." 
And  he  turned  to  go,  tracts  and  Scriptures  in  hand, 
for  his  day's  work  in  the  city.  But  just  as  he  was 
leaving,  the  cook  added: 

"I  have  something  I  want  to  say  before  you  go. 
I  have  ^ve  dollars  of  my  wages  saved,  and  I  want  you 
to  accept  it  for  use  in  the  work." 

George  Duncan  looked  at  him  keenly.  "You  know 
I  may  not  accept  a  loan.  If  this  is  merely  that  under 
another  name,  I  must  decline  it;  but  if  you  wish  to 
give  it  to  God,  from  God  your  reward  will  surely 
come,  but  not  from  me.  Even  if  I  receive  a  remit- 
tance to-morrow,  I  shall  not  return  your  money." 

"Ko,"  said  the  man,  "I  understand  that,  but  I,  too, 
believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  I  want  to  have  a  share 
in  this  good  work  for  Him.     Do  accept  it." 

So  the  need  was  met  for  the  time,  and  very  care- 
fully that  ^Ye  dollars  was  expended.  A  morning 
came,  however,  when  the  cook  came  again  with  the 
question:  "What  shall  we  do?  Now  my  wages 
are  gone,  and  neither  of  us  have  anything  left  at 
all!" 

"What  shall  we  do?"  Mr.  Duncan  replied.  "We 
shall  obey  God's  command  to  trust  in  the  Lord  and 


THE    FIBST   FOUE   YEABS.  141 

do  good;  so  shall  we  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  we 
shall  be  fed."  And  again  he  went  about  the  King's 
business  with  a  heart  at  rest. 

A  few  days  before  this  Mr.  Rudland  returned  to 
Ilang-chau  for  conference  with  Mr.  Taylor  about  fur- 
ther extension  of  the  work.  Mr.  Taylor  listened  to 
all  he  had  to  say  and  then  replied: 

"These  things  can  wait.  George  Duncan,  I  am 
afraid,  must  be  entirely  without  supplies  at  Nankin, 
and  every  effort  that  we  have  made  to  send  him 
money  has  been  fruitless.  Will  you  go  and  take 
him  a  roll  of  dollars  f' 

"Why,  certainly,  with  pleasure,'^  Mr.  Rudland  re- 
plied. And  they  knelt  down  together  to  ask  God's 
blessing  on  the  journey,  which,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, takes  ten  days  or  a  fortnight.  A  Nankin 
boatman  was  found,  reasonable  terms  were  arrived  at 
after  the  inevitable  bargaining,  and  with  great  satis- 
faction Mr.  Taylor  saw  his  friend  start  with  a  fair 
wind.  The  wind  continued  so  favorable  that  the 
boatmen  said,  with  surprise:  "Your  God  must  surely 
be  the  God  of  the  winds,  for  whichever  way  the 
Grand  Canal  turns,  the  wind  is»still  with  us."  A  good 
text  for  Rudland! 

In  a  surprisingly  short  time  Su-chaii  was  reached 
and  left  behind,  but  half  way  between  there  and 
Chin-kiang  they  came  to  an  unexpected  standstill. 
The  banks  were  burst,  and  the  canal  was  dry. 

"Wliat  shall  we  do?"  said  Mr.  Rudland  to  the  boat- 
man. 


142  THESE   FORTY   TEAKS. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  replied  the  captain,  "why, 
wait  till  they  repair  the  canal." 

"And  when  will  that  be?" 

"Who  knows?"  said  the  boatman.  "Perhaps  a 
month,  or  perhaps  three.  Whenever  the  mandarins 
have  leisure." 

"This  will  never  do,"  thought  Mr.  Kudland.  "Is 
there  no  other  way  from  here  to  ISTankin?" 

"jSTo,  no  other  way,"  the  man  replied. 

But  this  did  not  satisfy  the  foreigner,  and  going 
into  the  city  near  which  they  were  stranded  he 
learned  that  there  was  no  regular  road,  but  one  could 
go  by  footpaths  between  fields  of  rice,  and  by  so  doing 
he  could  save  two  or  three  days  on  the  journey. 

"Praise  the  Lord  for  the  burst  canal'"  he  thought. 
"Surely  Brother  Duncan  must  be  getting  very  low, 
and  the  Lord  is  caring  for  him." 

He  hired  a  donkey,  and  in  two  days'  time  was 
standing  at  Mr.  Duncan's  door.  Great  was  the  de- 
light of  the  cook  on  recognizing  Mr.  Rudland.  For 
once  in  his  life  his  Chinese  politeness  forsook  him, 
and  the  first  words  that  escaped  him  were,  "'Have  you 
brought  any  money?" 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Rudland,  "here  it  is." 

"The  visitor  was,  of  course,  made  welcome,  and 
before  long  the  cook  went  marketing.  When  Mr. 
Duncan  retiirned  the  evening  meal  was  ready,  and  the 
cook  stationed  at  the  front  door  awaiting  him.  Far 
down  the  street  he  saw  him,  head  and  shouldei-s 
above  the  crowd,  and  he  could  wait  no  longer.    Run- 


THE    FIRST    FOUR   YEARS.  143 

uing  as  hard  as  he  could  he  was  soon  with  Mr.  Dun- 
can, and  as  soon  as  he  regained  his  breath  sufficiently, 
still  panting, 

"It  is  all  right,  sir!''  he  said  with  a  beaming  face, 
"it  is  all  right!  The  money  has  come,  and  supper  is 
ready  and  waiting!'' 

Putting  his  hand  on  the  cook's  shoulder,  Mr.  Dun- 
can replied:  "Didn't  I  tell  you  so?  It  is  always  all 
right  to  trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good;  so  shall  we 
dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  we  shall  be  fed." 

We  can  imagine  how  hearty  was  the  greeting  be- 
tween the  two  missionaries,  and  how  pleasantly  the 
little  visit  wore  away  for  both. 

Brief  though  Mr.  Duncan's  ministry  had  been  at 
Lan-k'i,  it  had  not  been  without  fruit.  Five  years 
later  a  man  arrived  at  one  of  the  Hang-chau  out- 
stations,  wishing  to  hear  more  of  the  glad  tidings  he 
had  learned  to  love,  and  to  understand  in  part,  from 
the  lips  of  a  tall,  thin  foreigner  who  spent  one  sum- 
mer at  his  city.  All  this  time  he  had  worshiped  only 
the  one  true  God,  "Who  had  sent  His  son  to  die  on 
the  Cross  for  the  sins  of  men."  He  had  now  come 
to  learn  more,  and  to  join  the  church. 

Mr.  Duncan's  health  had  given  way  before  this 
time,  but  not  until  he  had  done  much  good  work 
.  at  Xanldn  and  elsewhere,  as  we  shall  see  later.  In 
1872  he  had  to  return  to  England,  where  he  passed 
away,  not  long  after,  from  rapid  phthisis.  Mr.  Tsiu, 
his  faithful  colleague,  also  ended  his  course  about  the 


144  THESE    FORTY   YEARS. 

same  time,  and  it  was  a  great  joy  to  both  of  them  to 
know  of  one,  at  least,  who  had  come  to  know  the  Lord 
through  their  stay  at  Lan-k'i. 

One  more  station  was  opened  this  year.  Mr.  Stott, 
who  had  been  working  at  Ning-po  up  to  this  time, 
now  felt  ready  for  more  strenuous  service,  and  paid 
a  refreshing  little  visit  to  Mr.  Taylor  and  the  others 
at  headquarters,  the  outcome  of  which  was  that  he 
started,  near  the  end  of  November,  for  the  city  of 
Wen-chau,  the  center  of  a  prefecture,  the  southern- 
most in  the  province,  with  a  population  of  certainly 
not  less  than  a  million  souls,  and  entirely  unevan- 
gelized. 

On  the  way  he  passed  through  T'ai-chau,  and  as 
all  was  peaceful  and  satisfactory,  Mr.  Jackson  left 
the  work  for  a  brief  change,  and  went  on  overland 
across  the  picturesque  mountainous  country  to  Wen- 
chau,  which  is  delightfully  situated  on  the  southern 
bank  of  its  river,  and  connected  with  a  populous  hin- 
terland by  numerous  waterways.  It  was  not  without 
difficulty  that  accommodations  were  obtained,  and 
then  only  at  an  inn.  Mr.  Jackson  soon  returned,  leav- 
ing his  fnend  in  possession.  Mr.  Stott  soon  fell  in 
love  with  his  new  field  of  service,  and  described  Wen- 
chau  as  the  most  perfect  and  the  most  beautiful  city 
he  had  seen,  thus  far,  in  China.  "The  rebels  did  not 
get  into  it,  so  it  is  preserved  and  uninjured  and  is 
probably  a  specimen  of  what  Chinese  cities  used  to 
be  before  the  rebellion,  but  the  idolatry  is  appalling." 
Repeated  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  more  settled 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    TEARS.  145 

and  suitable  accommodation  than  the  inn  afforded, 
both  before  Mr.  Jackson  left  and  after.  Again  and 
again,  however,  the  attempt  was  foiled  by  a  police- 
man. 

This  man  did  his  level  best  to  stir  up  trouble. 
Three  or  four  hundred  of  the  baser  sort  were  gath- 
ered together  on  one  occasion,  but  Mr.  Stott  held 
his  ground  and  quietly  faced  the  crowd.  After  a 
while,  having  done  but  little  damage,  the  people  went 
away.  He  himself  was  practically  uninjured.  'Noth- 
ing  daunted,  Mr.  Stott  soon  repaired  the  more  serious 
damages,  and  put  up  a  notice  on  the  door  that  he  was 
about  to  open  a  free  school.  He  engaged  a  teacher, 
and  a  solitary  pupil  appeared  on  the  day  school 
opened.  Gradually,  however,  more  and  more  came, 
but  their  studies  were  often  interrupted  by  threat- 
ened difficulty. 

"For  several  months,''  Mr.  Stott  writes,  "I  was 
scarcely  ever  out  of  trouble,"  and  he  was  at  the  un- 
usual disadvantage  of  being  unable  either  to  speak 
or  understand  the  strange  dialect  of  Wen-chau. 

The  first  inquirers  proved  to  be  hypocrites.  Not 
so,  however,  an  unhappy  little  boy,  an  orphan  of  fif- 
teen years  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  pupils  in  the 
school.  The  entire  right  side  of  his  body  had  been 
partly  paralyzed  from  birth.  In  every  way  he  seemed 
a  most  unlikely  case,  but  under  Mr.  Stott's  assiduous 
care  and  the  teacher's  persevering  instructions,  he 
made   steady   progi-ess,    his   intelligence    increasing 

surprisingly  as  time  went  on.    This  lad,  before  long, 
10 


146  THESE   FOETY   YEARS. 

became  an  earnest  inquirer,  and  after  a  time  of  pro- 
bation was  admitted  to  the  churcli.  His  consistent 
Christian  life,  and  quiet,  modest  demeanor  won  their 
way  with  alL  He  became,  moreover,  quite  an  at- 
tractive preacher,  and  several  years  later  he  could 
hold  the  attention  of  several  hundred  people  by  the 
hour.  We  can  imagine  Mr.  Stott's  feelings  as  he  sat 
and  listened,  picturing  again  the  pitiful  little  face  of 
the  ragged,  palsied  lad,  and  comparing  it  with  the 
open,  intelligent  countenance  of  the  speaker. 

"As  I  listened,"  he  says,  "to  his  soft,  musical,  yet 
manly,  voice  setting  forth  Jesus  Christ  and  salvation 
through  Him,  and  pleading  with  all,  old  and  young, 
to  believe  in  His  name  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
and  for  life  eternal,  it  was  conclusive  evidence  to  me 
•f  the  truth  and  power  of  God's  Word.  May  the 
glory  be  ascribed  to  Him  to  Whom  alone  it  is  due." 

Settled  work  had  been  done,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
six  new  cities  this  year,  four  of  which  remained  open 
at  the  close  of  the  year  and  have  never  since  been 
closed.  The  little  Mission  had  not  only  doubled  the 
number  of  its  stations,  but  had  made  its  first  inroad 
into  a  neighboring  province. 

The  old  year  closed,  as  usual,  in  fasting  and  wait- 
ing upon  God. 

Entering  now  upon  1868,  much  prayer  went  up 
that  God  would  graciously  grant  not  only  that  they 
might  open  up  more  cities  in  Cheh-kiang,  in  which 
they  were  now  well  established,  but  also  that  "during 


THE    FIRST   FOUR   YEARS.  14? 

this  year  some  decided  steps  might  be  taken  toward 
the  accomplishment  of  our  cherished  purpose — tak- 
ing the  Gospel  into  some  of  the  wholly  unoccupied 
provinces/'  nor  were  these  desires  disappointed. 

In  January,  Mr.  Crombie,  who  it  will  be  remem- 
bered had  opened  Fung-hua,  succeeded  in  renting 
premises  and  conunencing  work  in  the  city  of  Ning- 
hai,  half  way  between  his  old  station  and  T'ai-chau. 
Mr.  Meadows,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Cordon,  also,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  followed  Mr.  Dimcan's 
steps  as  far  as  the  city  of  Su-chau.  A  station  here 
was  of  great  importance,  both  on  account  of  the  size 
and  influence  of  the  city  and  because  it  was  just  half- 
way from  Hang-chau  to  the  Yang-tse. 

Work  was  now  sufficiently  advanced  in  Hang-chau, 
and  the  new  workers  sufficiently  at  home  in  the  lan- 
guage, for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  to  think  of  under- 
taking a  forward  movement  themselves.  Starting 
by  boat  up  the  Grand  Canal,  they  took  with  them 
three  ladies  to  join  Mr.  Cordon,  his  wife  and  tlie 
Misses  McLean,  as  well  as  their  own  party,  including 
their  secretary.  Miss  Blatchley,  the  children  and  the 
nurse.  Having  left  the  three  ladies  at  Su-chau,  Mr. 
Taylor's  party  continued  their  journey,  and  about  the 
end  of  May  reached  the  great  city  of  Chin-kiang, 
strategically  situated  at  the  jimcture  of  the  Grand 
Canal  and  the  Yang-tse,  but  entirely  without  the  Gos- 
pel. A  suitable  house  was  found,  after  a  laborious 
search,  and  attempts  were  made  to  secure  it,  which 
dragged  out  their  weary  length  for  nearly  a  month. 


148  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

Here  it  was  proposed  to  set  up  the  Mission  printing 
presses  under  Mr.  Rudland's  superintendence,  and 
to  locate  the  headquarters  of  the  Mission,  for  a  time, 
at  least. 

A  letter  was  now  sent  to  Hang-ehau,  asking  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Rudland  to  come  on  with  the  presses  and 
their  personal  belongings.  Through  the  interference 
of  the  native  officials,  however,  the  landlord  refused 
point  blank  to  allow  them  to  take  possession  of  the 
house  they  had  rented,  and  throughout  the  city,  in 
business  house  and  tea  room,  the  foreigners^  discom- 
fiture was  the  jest  of  the  people. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  and  their  family 
had  gone  on  to  Yang-chau,  a  day's  journey  to  the 
north,  up  the  Grrand  Canal.  This  remarkable  en- 
gineering feat,  cut  some  hundred  years  ago,  reaches 
all  the  way  from  Hang-chau  to  Pekin,  and  until  the 
introduction  of  foreign-built  steamers,  the  canal  was 
one  of  the  main  arteries  for  the  trade  and  taxes  of 
the  empire,  the  latter  being  forwarded  half  in  silver 
and  half  in  rice. 

Though  the  accommodation  secured  at  Yang-chau 
was  only  an  inn,  it  was  an  exceptionally  comfortable 
one.  The  travelers  were  very  thankful,  at  this  hot 
season  of  the  year,  to  end  their  long  boat  journey. 
Earnestly  they  prayed  to  God  that  He  would  give 
them  a  permanent  footing  in  this  large  and  flourish- 
ing city. 

This  was  not  to  be,  however,  without  their  passing 
through  very  serious  trials,  and  nearly  losing  their 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  149 

lives  in  a  riot;  an  experience  terrible,  indeed,  to  the 
missionary  party,  but  one  from  which  many  an  in- 
valuable lesson  was  learned,  to  prove  of  great  service 
later,  as  the  Mission's  field  of  operations  gradually 
expanded  west  and  north  and  south. 

This  riot  at  Yang-chau  is  of  special  significance, 
Avith  the  circumstances  which  led  up  to  it  and  fol- 
lowed, as  an  illustration  of  the  constant  danger  and 
difficulty  of  pioneer  work  in  China,  as  well  as  for  the 
helpful  warnings  it  suggested  for  future  use. 

A  month  passed  at  the  inn,  a  midsummer  month 
be  it  remembered,  before  Mr.  Taylor  was  able  to  se- 
cure more  permanent  premises,  and  very  glad  they 
all  were  to  move  into  their  own  home  toward  the 
latter  part  of  July.  But,  unfortunately,  a  series  of 
troubles  now  commenced  which  culminated  ere  long 
in  the  riot.  To  understand  fully  the  special  diffi- 
culties at  Yang-chau,  it  is  necessary  to  pause  a  mo- 
ment to  glance  at  the  city  and  its  people. 

Probably  no  place  hitherto  entered  was  prouder 
of  itself — of  its  antiquity,  its  noble  families,  its  tradi- 
tions— than  this  city  of  Yang-chau.  It  consisted 
really  of  two  cities  in  one,  old  and  new,  or  east  and 
west,  separated  by  a  substantial  wall,  and  governed 
each  by  its  OAvn  mayor,  or  rather  county  magistrate, 
under  one  prefect  or  Fu,  who  controlled  not  only  the 
entire  city,  but  twenty  other  neighboring  towns  as 
well. 

The  rebuff  at  Chin-ki^ng  was  particularly  unfavor- 
able to  obtaining  a  peaceful  settlement  in  this  older 


150  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

and  aristocratic  city.  Though  fifteen  miles  is  almost 
a  day's  journey,  such  welcome  news  spreads  apace 
even  in  China,  and  first  the  merchants  and  ofticials, 
then  the  scholarly  classes,  and  finally  everybody, 
knew  all  about  the  humiliation  of  the  foreigners. 

On  first  taking  up  residence  in  the  new  house,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  'J'aylor  were  a  little  inconvenienced  by  the 
curiosity  of  crowding  neighbors,  but  they  soon  be- 
came more  or  less  friendly.  Then  an  unfortunate 
occurrence  in  the  city  brought  about  fresh  trouble. 
Up  till  this  time  not  only  had  there  been  no  Protest- 
ant missionaries  in  this  city,  but  even  the  Catholics 
had  failed  to  obtain  a  settlement.  They  were  prepar- 
ing the  way,  however,  and  had  already  a  foundling 
hospital  under  the  charge  of  an  unscrupulous  native 
helper,  who  was  pocketing  the  money  and  staiwing 
the  infants.  So  many  of  these  died  that  serious  i-u- 
mors  began  to  spread  abroad  as  to  the  foreigners* 
.cannibalistic  proclivities.  Just  at  this  juncture  another 
of  the  unfortunate  children  died.  The  now  thor- 
oughly-frightened employe  attempted  to  bury  the 
body  outside  the  city  wall  by  stealth.  He  was  caught 
in  the  act  by  the  crowd,  tried  to  save  himself  by  say- 
ing he  was  employed  by  foreigners,  and  for  days,  as 
a  result,  Mr.  Taylor's  home  was  besieged  by  an  angry 
mob,  who  were  with  difficulty  persuaded  that  we  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  foundling  hospital,  or  with 
the  work  it  represented. 

Hardly  was  this  trouble  over  when  two  foreigners 
arrived  from  Chin-kiang  on  Saturday,  August  2 2d, 


THE   PntST   FOUR   YEAES. 


161 


to  visit  the  city  and  see  something  of  its  ancient  tem- 
ples and  public  buildings.  Already  the  party  at 
Yang-chau  had  been  considerably,  though  very  cau- 
tiously augmented  by  several  members  of  the  Mission 
who  had  come  to  consult  with  Mr.  Taylor  about  var- 
ious details  of  the  work.  The  open  arrival  of  these 
two  additional  foreigners  seemed  to  be  the  match 
that  kindled  the  imminent  conflagration.  All  Satur- 
day afternoon  the  Mission  premises  were  In  a  state 
of  siege,  and  soon  were  broken  into.  Keeping  per- 
fectly cool  and  patient,  and  reasoning  with  the  riot- 
ers, Mr.  Taylor  was  able  gradually  to  persuade  them 
to  retire,  and  the  broken  doors  were  barricaded  as 
far  as  possible  against  their  return. 

As  night  drew  on,  however,  and  the  busy  day  was 
finished  in  the  city,  the  crowd  rapidly  augmented 
and  became  more  and  more  ungovernable,  until  at 
last  it  was  manifest  that  it  was  impossible  to  control 
them  any  longer.  Messages  had  been  repeatedly  sent 
tc  the  ofiicials,  but  nothing  had  been  done.  The  only 
remaining  hope  was  for  Mr.  Taylor  to  go  to  the 
Yamen  himself,  and  possibly  by  God's  blessing  their 
lives  might  thus  be  saved.  After  briefly  but  very 
earnestly  committing  his  dear  ones  and  fellow-mis- 
sionaries to  the  Lord,  he  and  Mr.  Duncan  managed  to 
evade  the  rioters  by  leaving  the  premises  through  a 
neighbor's  house.  They  were  soon  seen,  however, 
ancf  followed  by  a  yelling  crowd.  The  darkness 
helped  them,  and  through  Mr.  Taylor's  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  city  they  were  able  to  take  certam 


152  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

byways  that  at  once  lessened  the  distance  and  enabled 
them  better  to  escape  the  angry  mob.^ 

As  they  neared  the  magistrate's  ollice  the  mob 
caught  up  with  them  again,  and  bruised  with  stones 
and  faint  Avith  running,  they  fell  against  the  Yamen's 
doors  just  as  they  were  being  closed  in  their  faces  to 
keep  out  the  tumultuous  crowd.  Happily,  just  at 
this  moment,  the  people  surged  upon  them  and  burst 
open  the  gates  before  they  were  barred,  or  they  would 
surely  have  been  torn  to  pieces  on  the  spot.  They 
rushed  through  into  the  middle  courtyard  crying  out 
loudly  ^TLiu  ming!  Kiu  ming!"  (Save  life),  a  cry 
which  mandarins  are  obliged  to  attend  to  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  or  night,  especially  if,  at  the  same  time, 
the  large  alarm  drum  is  beaten  by  the  petitioners. 
This  drum,  accordingly,  is  usually  enclosed  in  a  cage 
and  carefully  guarded  against  being  touched. 

After  waiting  for  a  time  which  seemed  intermin- 
able, at  last  they  were  permitted  to  see  the  prefect. 

"How  is  it  that  you  have  created  all  this  uproar?" 
he  asked.  "And  what  do  you  do  with  the  babies,  and 
how  many  have  you  bought?" 

As  soon  as  possible  Mr.  Taylor  told  the  magistrate 

quietly  but  firmly  that  the  real  reason  of  the  rioting 

was  the  neglect  of  his  subordinates  to  quell  disorder 

in  its  early  stages,  of  which  they  were  informed,  and 

♦There  was  very  little  doubt  that  in  this  case,  as  in  so 
many  other  similar  instances,  the  mob  was  being  encour- 
aged by  the  organized  action  of  the  scholars  of  the  city, 
who  very  possibly  had  privately  notified  the  officials  of  their 
Intention,  and  obtained  a  promise  from  them  to  remain  neu- 
tral as  long  as  they  could. 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  153 

asked  him  now  to  save  the  lives  of  the  foreigners  if, 
indeed,  they  were  not  killed  already,  and  afterAvards 
make  any  investigations  he  might  think  well. 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  replied;  "first  save  life  and  after- 
wards investigate." 

Mr.  Taylor  and  his  friend  were  then  told  that 
the  only  chance  of  quieting  the  people  was  for 
themselves  to  remain  in  the  Yamen,  Avhile  steps  were 
being  taken  to  rescue  the  others  and  dispei-se  the 
crowds.  This  he  set  about  promptly.  But  we  can 
imagine  the  distress  of  two  hours'  suspense  before 
the  prefect  returned.  The  disturbance  had  been 
quelled,  he  told  them,  and  several  of  the  ringleaders 
arrested,  and  the  foreign  gentlemen  could  return. 
Chairs  and  an  escort  were  provided. 

When  they  reached  the  premises  they  found  them 
largely  in  ruins,  with  the  wreckage  that  remained  of 
their  belongings  scattered  around  on  every  hand. 
But  of  those  so  dear  to  them  they  saw  nothing,  and  it 
v'Rs  some  time  before  they  learned  of  their  where- 
abouts, in  neighboring  houses,  where  at  no  little  risk 
they  had  been  received  and  kept  in  hiding. 

It  would  avail  nothing  to  tell  of  the  sufferings  of 
the  others,  nor  the  details  of  the  wonderful  way  in 
which,  though  battered  and  bruised,  and  some  of 
them  seriously  injured,  their  lives  had  been  pre- 
served in  the  midst  of  ten  or  twenty  thousand  en- 
raged and  reckless  rioters.  The  whole  party  re- 
turned to  their  devastated  home,  which  was  pro- 
tected now  by  soldiers. 


154  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

After  a  short  night's  rest  the  weary  and  exhausted 
i?iifferers  soon  discovered  that  the  night  guard  of  sol- 
diers had  retired  and  were  not  replaced.  Again  the 
crowds  collected,  and  it  seemed  as  though  the  experi- 
ences of  yesterday  were  about  to  be  repeated.  Mr. 
Taylor  again  faced  the  crowds,  and  by  quiet  reason- 
ing persuaded  them  that  they  were  there  with  their 
families  and  friends  for  the  good  of  the  people  only, 
and  with  no  sinister  designs.  By  this  means  the 
premises  were  at  length  nearly  cleared.  Taking  ad- 
vantage of  this  lull,  he  again  proceeded  to  the  pre- 
fect's, with  an  aching  heart,  and  reached  the  Yamen 
safely.  Here  further  delays  were  threatened.  "The 
prefect  had  not  risen,  had  not  bathed,  had  not  break- 
fasted. I  sent  a  message  that  I  did  not  wish  for  an 
interview,  but  that  riotous  proceedings  had  again 
commenced  and  that  there  was  no  one  to  suppress  the 
mob." 

The  district  magistrate  was  sent  for,  would  soon  be 
there,  and  would  accompany  Mr.  Taylor  to  the  house. 
It  seemed  a  long,  long  time  before  he  came.  He 
then  said  that  he  had  been  first  to  the  house  and  dis- 
persed the  mob,  and  had  then  come  to  the  Yamen. 
He  now  requested  Mr.  Taylor  to  write  a  very  mild 
letter  to  the  prefect,  calling  the  trouble  not  a  riot 
but  merely  a  disturbance,  lest  the  people  should  be- 
come more  incensed  than  ever.  Finding  it  absolutely 
impossible  to  refuse  this  unreasonable  request,  Mr. 
Taylor  promised  to  write  the  letter.  "In  this  way," 
the  magistrate  said,  "we  may  restore  peace  before 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  165 

night,  and  you  will  not  be  under  the  necessity  of 
leaving  the  city." 

A[eanwhile  Mr.  Duncan  and  Mr.  lludland  took 
their  stand  at  the  front  of  the  house,  and  succeeded 
iLi  keeping  the  rioters  in  check  until  the  magistrate 
Mi'rived.  After  dispersing  the  crowd,  the  soldiers  had 
the  loot,  what  little  remained,  to  themselves.  Later 
in  the  day,  the  magistrate  told  Mr.  Taylor,  after  in- 
i^dsting  on  and  obtaining  a  second  letter  milder  than 
the  first,  that  his  men  were  unable  to  keep  the  people 
in  order,  and  that  the  only  safe  way  would  be  to  hire 
boats  and  retire  for  the  present  to  Chin-kiang. 

"When  you  have  gone  we  will  gradually  quiet  the 
people,  and  when  it  is  safe  in\dte  you  to  return." 

Boats  were  engaged,  and  next  morning  they  all  set 
out  under  escort  to  Chin-kiang.  On  the  way  they 
were  met  by  a  party  of  friends  who  had  heard  of 
their  danger  and  kindly  came  to  their  relief,  headed 
by  the  acting  consul.  After  seeing  the  disabled  con- 
dition of  the  missionaries  they  went  on  to  Yang-chau, 
visited  the  ruined  remains  of  home  and  property,  and 
then  returned. 

Among  the  party  was  the  French  consul  at  Chin- 
kiang,  who  kindly  welcomed  the  whole  company  into 
his  handsome  new  consulate.  In  the  midst  of  it  all, 
however,  the  hearts  of  the  children  were  kept  in 
peace,  partly  through  the  calmness  of  the  mission- 
aries and  partly  through  child-like  confidence  in  the 
protection  of  Jesus  Himself. 

The  kind  action  of  the  British  consul,  it  may  be 


156  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

added,  was  entirely  on  his  own  initiative,  as  were  the 
subsequent  proceedings  which  were  taken  by  the 
authorities.  No  request  w^as  made  to  the  foreign 
representatives  for  protection  in  the  first  instance,  or 
for  justice  later  on. 

Among  the  lessons  learned  from  this  terrible  ex- 
perience may  be  mentioned: 

The  desirability  of  first  of  all  paying  repeated  pre- 
liminary visits  to  an  important  city,  both  to  accustom 
the  people  to  the  presence  of  foreigners  and  to  ascer- 
tain the  probability  of  obtaining  a  peaceable  settle- 
ment. 

Secondly,  not  to  take  much  luggage  to  a  newly- 
opened  station;  for  there  is  no  doubt  the  rioters  hoped 
to  obtain  valuable  plunder,  on  account  of  the  number 
of  packages  brought,  including  the  press  and  medical 
supplies. 

And,  thirdly,  for  only  two  or  three  people  to  at- 
tempt to  settle  in  a  newly-opened  city;  and  also  not 
to  attempt,  at  the  same  time,  two  neighboring  cities, 
for  failure  in  the  one  necessarily  imperils  the  other. 

Costly  though  this  experience  was,  Mr.  Taylor  and 
his  colleagues  have  often  felt  that  it  was  worth  all  it 
cost.  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  help  feeling  afterwards 
as  he  pondered  what  had  happened,  that  a  closer 
study  of  God's  Word  might  have  prevented  this  ex- 
perience. "There  is  no  command  to  open  mission 
stations  in  the  Word  of  God,  and  there  is  no  prece- 
dent to  be  found  there.  The  command  is  to  go  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach:  .  .  .  and  the  examples 


THE    FIEST   FOITR   YEARS.  157 

recorded  of  tlie  earliest  missionaries  might  have  led 
us  from  the  first  to  give  itineration  a  greater  promi- 
nence than  we  did."  And  while  stations  become 
necessary,  both  as  a  basis  for  itinerations  which  could 
not  be  continued  without  them,  and  in  other  ways, 
"it  is  surely  a  great  mistake  to  make  location  our  first 
aim,  instead  of  keeping  it  in  a  strictly  subordinate 
position  as  an  auxiliary." 

It  was  August  the  2 2d  when  the  riot  occurred, 
and  by  November  we  find  the  missionaries  again 
safely  reinstated  at  Yang-chau,  under  the  protection 
of  the  mayors  of  the  city.  In  the  meanwhile,  Mr. 
Taylor,  accompanied  by  another  worker,  had  evan- 
gelized northward  up  the  canal  as  far  as  Ts'ing-kiang- 
p'u,  a  hundred  miles  or  four  days  beyond  Yang-chau. 
Four  large  towns  and  twenty-five  cities  of  some  im- 
portance were  visited  on  this  journey,  all  of  which  were 
entirely  without  the  Gospel.  "May  God  soon  clear 
our  way,"  Mr.  Taylor  wrote,  and  prayed,  "to  return 
to  Yang-chau,  and  to  open  up  new  stations  further  in- 
land also."  Not  only  was  Yang-chau  reoccupied  that 
autumn,  but  the  important  city  of  Ts'ing-kiang-p'u 
was  also  opened  a  few  months  later,  a  house  being 
obtained  by  the  indefatigable  George  Duncan,  who 
through  God's  blessing  and  his  previoiis  experience 
was  enabled  to  enter  upon  residence  in  peace.  When, 
later  on,  he  returned  to  Nankin,  he  was  replaced  by 
Mr.  Eeid,  one  of  the  worst  sufferers  at  the  Yang-chau 
riot,  and  the  work  was  greatly  owned  and  prospered 
of  the  Lord.    For  the  present,  therefore,  Yang-chau 


158  TItESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

remained  headcpiarters,  as  well  as  the  home  of  Mr. 
Taylor's  family. 

This  accoimt  of  the  Yang-chau  troubles  would  not 
be  complete  without  digressing  a  moment  to  follow 
some  of  the  ring-leaders,  whom  the  magistrates  either 
did  not  dare  or  did  not  care  to  punish.  The  prefect, 
whose  inactivity  was  practically  and,  perhaps,  di- 
rectly the  cause  of  the  riot,  and  who  was  so  loth  to 
interfere,  within  twelve  months  "fell  into  the  hands 
of  banditti  on  his  way  to  Pekin.  He  and  his  son 
both  lovSt  their  lives;  all  his  property  was  pillaged, 
and  his  wives  and  one  or  two  of  his  children  had  to 
beg  their  way  along  the  latter  part  of  the  journey. 

"The  district  magistrate  at  a  later  period  also  fell 
into  trouble.  The  whole  family  of  the  literary  man 
Koh,  who  was  one  of  the  chief  inciters  of  the  people, 
has  become  impoverished.  The  man  who  attempted 
to  murder  Mr.  Eudland,  and  who  was  the  leader  of 
the  ruffians  that  broke  into  our  house,  has  not  only 
himself  been  punished  by  the  authorities,  but  his 
family,  on  ac<?ount  of  their  misdeeds  .  .  .  have  be- 
come infamous  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chinese." 

These  facts  became  so  well  known  in  the  city  that 
an  attempt  to  create  still  more  serious  trouble  in 
1871,  by  a  military  mandarin,  was  entirely  unavail- 
ing. The  people  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
business.  "God  can  yet  say  to  a  people,  'Touch  not 
mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm,'  and 
not  infrequently  He  does." 

The  Yang-tse  river,  now  so  well  known  from  its 


THE    FIRST    FOUR   YEAltS.  159 

new  political  significance,  rising  among  the  eternal 
snows  of  Thibet,  rims  from  west  to  east  across  China, 
dividing  it  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  of  which  one 
may  roughly  say  that  South  China  (including  a  large 
part  of  the  valley  of  the  Yang-tse)  eats  rice,  and 
North  China,  wheat. 

After  three  thousand  miles  this  mighty  river 
empties  itself  into  the  sea  by  a  wide  double  channel 
through  the  province  of  Kiang-su,  of  which  Shanghai 
has  long  been  the  commercial  center.  To  this  prov- 
ince and  the  one  immediately  to  the  south,  Cheh- 
kiang,  the  young  Mission  was  still  limited  at  the  end 
of  1868.  But  not  so  their  desires,  which  were  steadily 
set  on  the  regions  beyond. 

Christmas  Day,  indeed,  had  been  spent  by  the 
now  experienced  Mr.  Meadows  and  his  friend,  Mr. 
Williamson,  at  N^ankin,  in  the  home  of  George  Dun- 
can and  his  bride.  And  ISTew  Year's  eve  found  them 
well  on  the  way  up  river  to  Gan-king,  capital  of  one 
of  the  eleven  unoccupied  provinces,  to  commence 
work  in  which,  the  China  Inland  Mission  had  been 
formed. 

JSTo  province  had  suffered  more  severely  in  the  T'ai- 
p'ing  rebellion  than  this  province  of  An-huei,  and  it 
had  long  been  a  burden  on  the  heart  of  Mr.  Taylor. 
Probably  thirty  out  of  its  forty  millions  had  perished 
through  war  and  famine  and  plague,  "all  uncared 
for,  unsought,  untaught,  unsaved.'' 

The  generous  immigration  schemes  of  the  paternal 
government  had  probably  added  not  fewer  than  ten 


160  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

millions  to  the  province,  which  thus  numbered  now, 
approximately,  twenty  million  inhabitants.  To  Gan- 
king,  then,  Meadows  and  Williamson  were  on  the 
way. 

They  did  not  expect  their  task  to  be  a  sinecure. 
Nor  was  it.  Profiting  by  the  past,  they  lived  on 
their  boat  for  a  time,  paying  daily  visits  to  the  city. 
When  they  did  try  to  obtain  a  house,  it  proved  a 
long  and  wearisome  affair.  After  many  unsuccessful 
attempts,  their  evangelistic  work  going  on  uninter- 
ruptedly the  while,  they  had  to  content  themselves 
with  rooms  in  a  rough  hotel  near  the  west  gate  of  the 
city;  and  this  was  all  they  could  obtain  for  months. 

Never  before  had  they  met  such  utter  indifference. 
No  one  seemed  curious  or  interested  about  the 
strangers  themselves;  no  one  seemed  to  care  to  hear 
their  message,  and  still  less  was  any  one  willing  to 
rent  a  house  to  the  "foreign  dogs." 

One  day,  almost  in  despair,  Mr.  Meadows  wished 
they  "could  find  some  scoundrel  who  feared  nobody 
but  wanted  money,  and  would  be  willing  to  rent  a 
house."  Shortly  after  he  ran  down  to  visit  his  family. 
No  sooner  was  he  gone,  than  an  aged  man  called  to 
see  Mr.  Williamson  and  offered  to  rent  his  premises. 

"I  am  an  old  man,"  he  said,  "and  am  afraid  of  no 
one.  Neither  mandarins  nor  scholars  will  interfere 
with  me."  (One  of  the  officials  told  the  missionaries, 
some  months  later,  that  this  man  was  about  the  worst 
character  in  the  city.  "He  feared  neither  gods  nor 
men.") 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  161 

The  old  man  went  on  to  say  tliat  lie  was  building 
premises  that  would  be  in  every  way  satisfactory, 
but  had  run  short  of  money,  and  would  need  a  year's 
rent  in  advance  to  complete  the  house.  With  due 
care  and  caution,  deeds  were  drawn  up  by  trust- 
worthy middlemen,  the  year's  rent  paid  over,  and  at 
last  there  was  prospect  of  a  settled  home.  When 
Mr.  Meadows  returned  he  brought  his  family  with 
him,  hoping  to  enter  into  residence  at  once,  in  which 
he  was  disappointed  for  several  weeks.  At  the  end, 
however,  they  got  safely  into  their  new  and  very 
w^elcome  home. 

They  remained  in  peace  for  three  months,  through 
the  summer,  but  with  the  autumn  came  the  annual 
literary  examinations,  during  which  the  city  is 
crowded  with  students,  and  with  business  men  who 
come  from  all  the  neighboring  towns  and  country  to 
share  in  the  profits  of  the  busiest  season  in  the  year. 
This  was  obviously  a  grand  opportunity  to  stir  up 
trouble;  and  trouble  the  scholars  did  stir  up,  indeed. 
Another  riot  occurred,  in  which  many  of  the  features 
of  the  Yang-chau  experience  were  repeated.  Their 
home  was  completely  wrecked,  and  all  their  belong- 
ings either  stolen  or  destroyed. 

Early  in  the  day,  as  trouble  was  threatened  and 
the  city  placarded  with  hostile  exhortations,  Mr. 
Meadows  and  his  colleague  had  called  upon  the 
tao-t'ai,  who  was  nominally  responsible  for  the  for- 
eigners' safety.    During  their  absence  a  furious  mob 

gathered  and  broke  into  the  house ;  but  Mrs.  Meadows 
11 


1G2  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

and  the  children,  after  many  vicissitudes,  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  Yamen  safely  by  God's  gracious  pro- 
tection, and  through  the  courageous  devotion  of  a 
faithful  native  servant. 

AYhen  the  riot  was  over  they  had  to  leave  the  city 
for  a  time,  a  boat  being  provided  by  the  Yanien  to 
take  them  to  Kiu-kiang.  They  suffered  from  the  cold 
a  good  deal  by  the  way,  for  they  had  nothing  with 
them  except  the  scanty  bedding  furnished  by  the 
authorities,  not  even  soap  or  towels,  or  even  a  comb, 
still  less  any  books.  They  were  thankful,  however, 
to  be  alive  and  safe.  Five  days'  journey  brought 
them  to  Kiu-kiang,  where  they  were  kindly  received 
by  the  few  foreign  residents,  and  a  free  passage  was 
obtained  by  steamer  down  the  river. 

The  native  authorities  promptly  investigated  the 
riot,  punished  the  student  ringleaders,  and  put  out 
a  very  satisfactory  proclamation,  after  which  the  mis- 
sionaries were  invited  to  return.  The  brethren  did 
so,  and  some  weeks  later,  not  without  some  trepida- 
tion, and  not  a  little  courage,  also,  and  confidence  in 
God,  Mrs.  Meadows  took  the  children  back.  Difficult 
as  the  work  proved  at  Gan-king,  the  two  missionaries 
were  not  without  encouragement.  Five  or  six  con- 
verts were  received  into  fellowship  before  it  became 
necessary,  on  account  of  failing  health  and  other 
claims,  for  them  to  go  down  to  the  coast.  George 
Dimcan  took  on  the  work,  as  an  out-station,  from 
Nankin,  and  about  this  time  took  the  first  missionary 
itineration  in  the  province  of  An-huei. 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  163 

For  fifteen  years  the  China  Inland  Mission  con- 
tinued to  be  the  only  workers  in  this  province. 

But  not  this  province  only  was  opened  in  1869. 
A  new  missionary  had  joined  the  China  Inland  Mis- 
sion, who  for  seven  years  had  been  praying  for  un- 
evangelized  Kiang-si.*  Mr.  Cardwell,  on  his  first 
arrival  in  China,  was  stationed  at  T'ai-chau.  Here, 
however,  after  three  months'  study  of  the  language, 
his  health  gave  way  so  seriously  that  it  was  feared 
he  might  have  to  return  to  England. 

"ISTever,''  he  said,  "after  seven  years'  prayer  for 
this  work.'' 

He  tried  Kiu-kiang,  on  the  Yang-tse,  the  commer- 
cial center  of  Kiang-si,  and 'it  suited  his  health  to 
perfection.  He  steadily  regained  strength,  and  be- 
fore long  we  find  him  taking  extensive  evangelistic 
journeys,  the  first  in  the  province  on  which  his  heart 
had  been  set  so  long. 

Thus  ended  the  first  four  years  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission.  In  January,  1866,  when  the  first  Occa- 
sional Paper  was  prepared  for  the  press,  its  work 
was  limited  to  i^ing-po,  mth  four  missionaries  en- 
gaged in  the  work,  and  three  others  on  the  way, 
beside  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  at  home. 

Xow,  at  the  beginning  of  1870,  there  were  thirty- 
three  missionaries,  in  thirteen  stations  with  eight  out- 

♦The  first  worker  to  settle  in  this  province  was  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hart,  a  distinguished  "Southern  Methodist,"  who  com- 
menced work  in  Kiu-kiang  shortly  after  the  China  Inland 
Mission  was  formed. 


164  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

Stations,  working  in  two  of  the  old  provinces  and  in 
two  of  the  eleven  nnoccnpied  provinces  for  which 
prayer  had  been  asked  and  obtained,  at  the  time  of 
the  formation  of  the  Mission. 

Then  there  were  fifty  or  sixty  converts  at  I^ing-po. 
Xow  there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty  members, 
connected  with  a  dozen  churches,  besides  some  hun- 
dreds of  inquirers  waiting  to  be  received. 

In  gauging  the  importance  of  these  facts  it  will 
be  remembered  that  the  early  stages  of  missionary 
work  are  always  slow,  and  that  a  single  convert  from 
heathenism  is  very  real  cause  for  thankfulness ;  also, 
that  work  in  the  pioneer  stage  is  always  far  less  pro- 
ductive in  numerical  results  than  it  is  later. 

Moreover,  much  of  the  new  missionaries'  time  had 
necessarily  been  spent  in  learning  the  language,  in 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  people,  in  striving  to  obtain  settlement  in  difil- 
cult  but  strategic  places,  and  in  gradually,  though 
slowly,  obtaining  access  not  only  to  homes  but  hearts. 

During  all  this  time  Mr.  Berger  continued  to  cai^ry 
the  onerous  responsibilities  of  correspondence,  and 
of  candidates,  and  the  management  of  funds  at  home. 
Again  and  again  his  faith  had  been  tested.  Several 
times  the  balance  in  hand  was  "as  low  as  £20;  yet, 
to  the  praise  of  God's  gi*ace,  I  may  say,  it  has  never 
been  necessary  to  send  money  to  China  without  my 
being  able  to  do  so,  and  even  the  full  amount  that 
I  desired." 

During  these  years  over  seventy  thousand  dollars 


THE    FIRST    FOUR    YEARS.  166 

had  been  received,  without  any  request  for  money, 
through  the  Lord's  stewards,  who  wished  to  share  in 
what  they  felt  to  be  His  work. 

"Thus  tenderly,"  wrote  Mr.  Berger,  "is  He  teach- 
ing us  to  put  our  trust  in  Hiin." 


CHAPTEK    IX 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEAKS. 

To  the  minds  of  many,  as  we  have  seen,  the  China 
Inland  Mission  was  foredoomed  to  failure.  It  had 
now,  however,  passed  the  stage  of  an  experiment; 
the  thing  worked.  And  had  it  not  thereby,  if  it  was 
really  letting  in  the  Light,  proved  its  right  to  be  ? 

To  the  inner  circle  of  its  members  and  its  friends 
this,  and  something  more,  was  proved.  They  had 
known,  to  begin  with,  that  when  the  Lord  said  "all 
these  things  shall  be  added/'  He  intended  to  fulfill 
His  promise.  They  knew  now  that  God  had  set  the 
seal  of  His  approval  on  the  work,  as  they  had  hoped 
He  would,  and  that  meant  everything.  The  new 
methods  of  finance,  of  selection  of  men,  the  ways  of 
working  among  the  people,  and  the  prayer  basis  of 
it  all,  had  been  put  to  the  trial,  and  had  stood  the 
test,  and  deepened  faith  and  confidence  in  God  was 
the  result. 

And  that  l)eing  so,  the  young  Mission  being 
"strengthened,  settled,  stablished'^  of  God,  and  know- 
ing it,  God  was  about  to  temper  the  proven  steel  by 
fire.  The  year  1870  was  the  darkest  and  the  hardest, 
until  1900,  that  the  Mission  ever  knew.  Every  sta- 
tion, most  of  them  young  stations,  be  it  remembered, 

166 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  167 

was  in  peril.  Funds  were  low.  And  personal  sorrow 
came  on  not  a  few,  heaviest  of  all  on  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor. 

In  that  year  took  place  the  terrible  massacre  of 
Tien-tsin,  in  which  the  Koman  Catholic  cathedral  and 
the  French  consulate  were  demolished  and  twenty 
Europeans,  priests  and  nuns,  cruelly  butchered  in 
cold  blood.  The  news  of  this  spread  rapidly,  growing 
as  it  went,  transmitted  through  the  Yamens,  by 
which  all  outside  news  still  reaches  the  interior.  The 
whole  of  China  became  in  a  ferment.  It  seemed  for 
a  time  as  though  missionary  work  must  cease,  so 
serious  was  the  trouble. 

From  the  new  inland  stations  the  ladies  were  with- 
drawn, the  men  remaining  at  their  posts.  About 
this  tune  the  viceroy  at  iN^ankin  was  murdered,  a 
strong  man,  just  the  one  needed  at  that  crisis.  Writ- 
ing of  this,  Mr.  Duncan  adds,  "Is  it  not  strange  that 
the  viceroy,  who  had  so  many  soldiers  continually  on 
guard,  should  thus  be  laid  low  by  the  assassin's  hand, 
while  we,  who  seem  so  helpless  and  exposed,  are  pre- 
served in  safety?  Truly,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  en- 
campeth  about  them  that  fear  Him,  and  delivereth 

them." 

Strangely  enough,  it  was  along  the  Yang-tse  main- 
ly that  these  troubles  and  rumors  were  the  worst. 
It  seems  probable  that  the  diversion  of  the  carrjdng 
trade,  which  used  to  bring  goods  and  tribute  and  rice 
from  South  China  to  Pekin,  either  overland  or  by  the 
Grand  Canal,  to  steamers,  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with 


168  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

the  feeling  at  these  river  ports.  At  Gan-king  the 
utter  lack  of  interest  in  the  foreigners  and  their 
teachings  was  changed  to  strong  and  manifest  dislike. 
Special  troubles,  moreover,  enhanced  the  danger 
there,  especially  extensive  floods  from  the  overflow- 
ing of  the  Yang-tse,  which,  of  course,  destroying 
crops  for  a  wide  area,  left  the  poor  farm  people  with- 
out the  means  of  subsistence  for  the  coming  winter. 

Still  further  up  the  river,  at  Kiu-kiang,  Mr.  Card- 
well  also  was  in  danger.  The  city  was  placarded  with 
notices  that  on  the  28th  day  of  the  month  all  the 
foreigners  would  be  killed. 

Meanwhile,  fearing  foreign  reprisal,  large  num- 
bers of  soldiers  were  massed  at  Tien-tsin,  at  I^ankin 
and  Gan-king,  and  other  points  on  the  Yang-tse  were 
being  fortified. 

By  the  overruling  of  God,  however,  all  these  trou- 
bles passed,  and  by  I^ew  Year,  1871,  the  threatenings 
of  war  and  evil  rumors  had  blown  away.  The  strain, 
however,  upon  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  colleagues  had 
been  severe. 

As  already  mentioned,  personal  sorrow  had  come 
to  several  members  of  the  Mission  at  this  time.  Early 
in  the  year  1870,  Mr.  Taylor's  third  son,  little  Sam- 
uel, the  baby  of  the  ^'Lammermuir,'^  became  sud- 
denly worse;  he  had  been  ailing  all  the  winter.  "On 
February  4th,"  Mr.  Taylor  wrote,  "the  tender  Shep- 
herd came  to  us,  seeking  this  little  lamb." 

It  had  already  been  decided  that  the  children,  ex- 
cept the  youngest,  should  go  home  to  England.   Miss 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  169 

Blatchlej  kindly  volunteered  to  take  them,  and  on 
the  23d  of  March  they  started.  It  was  a  sore  parting 
for  Mrs.  Taylor,  herself  far  from  strong. 

Hurrying  back  to  Chin-kiang,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
found  Mrs.  Judd  apparently  dying.  Every  means 
was  tried,  and  weary  days  and  nights  were  passed  in 
watching.  United  prayer  was  also  made,  and  was 
heard,  for  the  turning  came,  and  the  patient  re- 
covered. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  summer,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Kudland  lost  a  little  one.  Mrs.  Taylor  wrote  at 
once,  with  her  unvarying  sympathy,  to  comfort  the 
sorrowing  parents. 

The  very  next  month  Mrs.  Taylor  herself  was 
stricken  with  cholera.  This  was  July  6th.  Two 
days  later  little  J^oel  was  bom,  but  within  a  fort- 
night he  also  was  called  home.  Three  days  later, 
the  early  dawn  showed  clearly  the  shadow  of  death 
ou  Mrs.  Taylor's  face.  "She  awoke  rejoicing  in  the 
Lord,  and  gave  me  a  bright  smile,''  writes  Mr.  Taylor. 
"I  said,  ^My  darling,  do  you  know  that  you  are 
dying?' 

"She  answered,  with  a  look  of  surprise,  ^Can  it  be 
so?    I  feel  no  pain,  only  very  weary.' 

"My  precious  wife  thought  of  my  being  left  alone 
at  this  time  of  trial,  having  no  companion  like  herself 
with  whom  I  had  so  long  been  wont  to  bring  every 
difficulty  to  the  Throne  of  Grace.  She  said,  'I  am 
so  sorry,'  and  then  paused,  as  if  half  correcting  her- 
self for  venturing  to  feel  sorry. 


170  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

"'You  are  not  sorry  to  go  to  be  with  Jesus?'  I 
]  csponded. 

'^ever  shall  I  forget  the  smile  she  gave  me,  as, 
looking  right  into  my  eyes,  she  said,  ^Oh  no!  it  is  not 
that.  You  know,  dearest,  that  for  ten  years  past 
there  has  not  been  a  cloud  between  my  soul  and  my 
Saviour.  I  cannot  be  sorry  to  go  to  Him.  But  I 
grieve  to  leave  you  alone  at  this  time.  Perhaps  I 
ought  not  to  be  sorry,  though,  for  He  will  be  with 
you,  and  will  supply  all  your  need.' 

******* 

"On  July  23d  this  beloved  one  also  slept  in  Jesus. 
I  scarcely  knew  whether  she  or  I  was  the  more 
blessed,  so  real,  so  constant,  so  satisfying  was  His 
presence,  so  deep  my  delight  in  the  consciousness  that 
His  will  was  being  done,  that  that  will,  which  was 
utterly  crushing  me,  was  good,  was  wise,  was  best. 

"The  next  two  months  were  months  of  personal 
sickness  and  prostration,  and  my  beloved  youngest 
child,  the  only  one  remaining  with  me,  was  brought 
very  near  the  grave.  But  God  in  tender  pity  spared 
him." 

The  year,  however,  was  not  without  encourage- 
ments. "He  knoweth  our  frame;  He  remembereth 
that  we  are  dust.''  It  being  necessary  for  the  ladies 
to  be  withdrawn  from  Yang-chau,  as  Avell  as  from 
the  other  advanced  stations,  a  quiet  work  was  com- 
menced at  Chin-kiang,  a  work  which  had  been  much 
on  Mr.  Taylor's  heart. 

For  this  new  venture,  the  establishment  of  a  school 


THE    NEXT    SIX     VKAKS.  iTl 

for  girls,  and  a  special  work  for  women,  carried  on 
hy  sisters  only,  more  ample  accommodation  was 
needed  than  it  was  possible  to  secure,  for  Chin-kiang 
had  been  so  seriously  damaged  by  the  T'ai-p'ings 
that  there  were  scarcely  houses  enough  for  the  re- 
quirements of  the  natives,  the  trade  of  the  port  hav- 
ing largely  recovered  meanwhile.  Evidently  the 
premises  would  have  to  be  built.  Mr.  Taylor  did 
not  feel  it  right,  however,  to  appropriate  the  money 
from  the  slender  exchequer  of  the  Mission.  If  he 
had  had  enough  money  of  his  own,  he  would  gladly 
have  used  it  in  this  way.  His  own  needs^  both  in 
China  and  at  home,  had  been  met  for  years  inde- 
pendently of  the  Mission.  But  the  small  surplus  that 
he  had  in  hand  had  already  been  needed  for  the 
home-going  of  the  children.  "I  had  not  long  been 
asking  God  about  this  matter  when  there  reached  me, 
from  a  relative  of  my  own,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
in  England,  a  gift  of  a  hundred  pounds,  with  the 
request  that  I  would  take  it  for  my  own  private  use, 
and  not  consider  it  as  a  contribution  to  the  Mission." 
Kever  before  had  so  large  a  sum  been  put  into 
his  hands  for  his  own  use.  But  God  knew.  An  ex- 
cellent site  was  secured  and  after  weeks  of  careful 
negotiation  the  deed  of  purchase  was  signed,  stamped 
with  the  Yamen  seal,  and  registered.  The  ground 
was  leveled  and  prepared  with  the  remainder  of  the 
money.  At  this  juncture  another  letter  arrived  from 
home  with  another  gift  of  a  hundred  pounds,  also 
for  himself.     Some  furniture  and  other  articles  no 


172  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

longer  needed  by  Mr.  Taylor  were  sold,  and  thus  the 
balance  of  the  money  for  the  buildings  was  obtained. 
Admirably  situated,  opposite  the  delightfully  breezy 
hills  that  form  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  Chin- 
kiang,  the  new  school-house  was  all  that  was  desired. 
And  before  the  heat  of  the  summer  began,  Miss 
Bowyer  and  Miss  Desgraz  commenced  this  new  work 
among  the  women  and  children  of  that  populous  city 
and  neighborhood. 

During  1871,  moreover,  peace  being  reestablished, 
Mr.  Cardwell  was  able  to  leave  Kiu-kiang  and  to 
commence  extensive  itinerations  throughout  his  prov- 
ince. During  that  year  and  the  next,  more  than  a 
hundred  towns,  cities  and  villages  were  ^dsited,  and 
upwards  of  fifteen  thousand  portions  of  Scripture  and 
tracts  put  into  circulation  in  districts  which  had  never 
before  heard  the  message  of  salvation. 

In  the  next  province,  An-huei,  Mr.  Duncan,  not 
content  with  his  double  charge  of  ISTankin  and  Gan- 
king,  undertook  extensive  itinerations  in  company 
with  Mr.  Harvey.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1871 
that  these  two  missionaries  carried  the  good  tidings 
for  the  first  time  to  the  populous  port  AYuhu,  a  city 
of  special  importance  from  the  fact  that  all  the  salt 
of  the  province — salt  is  a  government  monopoly  in 
China — has  to  be  obtained  either  from  this  town  or 
from  another  two  hundred  miles  to  the  north,  j^ot  a 
few  other  important  cities  heard  the  Gospel  message 
for  the  first  time  through  this  journey  of  Duncan 
and  Harvey. 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  178 

At  the  same  time,  itinerations  were  being  made  in 
the  two  older  provinces.  It  was  a  great  cheer,  of 
course,  to  the  missionaries,  that  it  was  possible  to 
travel  again  without  danger.  Indeed,  this  year  of 
1871  was  the  first  in  which  extensive  evangelistic 
journeys,  in  the  regions  beyond,  were  attempted  by 
members  of  the  Mission.  The  reestablishment  of 
friendly  relations  with  their  neighbors  in  most,  if 
not  all,  the  stations  of  the  Mssion  was  another  great 
cause  for  thanksgiving.  But  most  cheering  of  all  was 
the  way  in  which  the  native  church  at  Hang-chau 
began  to  lay  hold  of  the  'privilege  of  missionary  serv- 
ice. This  movement,  moreover,  sprang  directly  out 
of  the  troubles  of  the  year  before. 

The  Christians  had  seen  that  their  foreign  friends 
were  really  cast  upon  God  for  protection  and  preser- 
vation during  that  trying  time,  just  as  they  them- 
selves needed  to  be,  in  their  times  of  difficulty  and 
persecution.  About  this  time  one  of  the  native 
helpers,  a  convert  of  the  early  Ning-po  days,  re- 
turned from  his  out-station  to  confer  with  Mr.  Mc- 
Carthy, who  was  still  in  charge  of  the  Hang-chau 
work. 

This  Mr.  Lo  had  had  a  checkered  experience. 
Nearly  blind  and  much  run  down,  he  had  come  for 
medical  help  to  Mr.  Taylor  soon  after  his  first  arrival 
at  ]Sring-po.  ISTot  only  was  his  sight  restored,  but 
through  the  kindness  of  the  missionaries  he  came  to 
understand  something  of  the  love  of  God.  He  was 
among  the  first  of  many  who  at  that  time  learned  to 


174  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

read  the  Romanized  colloquial.*  Some  time  after, 
when  Mr.  Taylor  took  charge  of  Dr.  Parker^s  hos- 
pital, young  Lo  was  one  of  the  little  group  of  native 
Christians  who  so  willingly  lent  a  hand,  and  his 
happy  shining  face  did  as  much  as  his  earnest  words 
to  persuade  the  patients  to  believe.  For  some  years 
the  young  convert  stood  well,  but  during  the  terrihfe 
times  of  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebellion  his  faith  failed.  He 
went  back,  and  strange  to  say,  health  and  sight  both 
failed  again. 

Hearing,  later,  that  Mr.  Taylor  had  returned  to 
China  and  had  commenced  medical  work  at  Hang- 
chau,  the  sick  man  trudged  wearily  the  long  dusty 
road,  and  arrived  in  a  pitiful  condition.  The  same 
kindly  welcome  impressed  him,  and  the  same  means 
were  used  and  blessed  to  his  physical  and  spiritual 
restoration.  Again  he  started  on  the  study  of  the 
Testament  and  studied  thoroughly.  He  would  con- 
fine his  attention  to  one  book,  until  he  nearly  knew 
it  by  heart,  before  he  went  on  to  another,  so  that 
what  he  knew,  he  hnew,  though  he  often  remained 
surprisingly  ignorant  of  elementary  truths  in  other 
parts  of  the  Bible.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  in 
household  service,  but  his  zeal  and  consistent  life  sug- 
gested that  he  be  allowed  a  wider  sphere  for  his 

*It  is  interesting  to  know  that  every  one  of  those  early 
students,  who  mastered  the  Ning-po  Testament,  came  to 
know  the  Lord  Jesus  as  his  Saviour.  This  reminiscence  of 
the  result  of  Bible  study  in  the  local  dialect,  Romanized,  is 
exactly  paralleled  by  the  recent  experience  of  Pilkington 
and  his  colleagues  in  Uganda. 


THE    XEXT    SIX    YEARS.  17 1 


I  . ) 


obvious  gifts.  First,  as  a  colporteur,  he  sold  tracts 
and  Scriptures,  and  soon  he  was  doing  the  work  of  an 
evangelist  among  the  border  towns  of  Cheh-kiang 
and  An-huei. 

It  was  in  1871  that  Lo  caine  to  confer  wdth  Mr. 
McCarthy,  expecting  to  return  to  his  out-station  after 
a  few  days'  visit.  It  so  happened  that  at  this  time 
Mr.  McCarthy  was  in  difficulty;  his  funds  were  nearly 
spent.  Indeed,  so  obvious  was  the  state  of  the  ex- 
chequer that  one  of  the  church  members,  knowing 
Mr.  McCarthy  would  not  accept  a  loan,  pawned  his 
own  clothes,  and  brought  the  handsome  sum  of 
twenty  dollars  as  a  contribution  to  the  work.  Lo  was 
not  slow  to  grasp  the  situation,  and  feeling  that 
money  and  men  from  abroad  must  necessarily  be  in- 
adequate to  the  immense  needs  which  he  was  be- 
ginning to  realize,  thought  and  prayed,  until  a  bright 
idea  occurred  to  him.  With  Mr.  McCarthy's  cordial 
approval  he  suggested  to  the  little  church  that  they 
should  start  a  home  missionary  society.  He  reminded 
them  that  all  the  privileges  they  enjoyed,  all  that 
made  their  lives  happier  and  their  future  infinitely 
more  blessed  than  their  neighbors',  they  owed  to  mis- 
sionaries and  to  their  obedience  to  our  Lord's  com- 
mand. And  very  earnestly  he  urged  that  they,  too, 
should  do  something  to  spread  the  good  news  they 
had  thus  received.  He  suggested  that,  month  by 
month,  each  church  member  should  give  as  God  had 
prospered  him,  and  that  as  soon  as  they  had  sufficient 
they  should  select  and  send  forth  their  o^vn  repre- 


176  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

sentatives  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  neighboring 
to^\Tis.  Five  thousand  cash  was  raised  at  once  (then 
equal  to  five  gold  dollars)  enough  to  keep  a  worker 
and  pay  his  traveling  expenses  for  a  month,  and  a 
bright  young  fellow,  named  Chang  Ling-iong,  was 
selected  for  the  service,  which  the  church  entered 
upon  with  all  the  heartiness  that  Lo  and  the  mis- 
sionaries could  desire. 

This  man  Chang,  trained  in  that  early  pioneer 
effort  of  the  native  church  at  Hang-chau,  remains 
to  this  day  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  is  the 
pastor  of  one  of  the  most  successful  stations  in 
Kiang-si. 

At  Ning-po,  the  first  station  of  the  Mission,  the 
work  was  now  under  the  charge  of  a  native  pastor, 
Mr.  McCarthy  paying  occasional  visits  from  Hang- 
chau.  The  Ning-po  pastor  was  a  man  named  Tsiu,* 
who  had  been  another  of  the  early  converts  at  Mng- 
po.  At  Hang-chau  also  the  native  pastor,  Wang,  was 
rendering  the  most  invaluable  help,  as  were  several 
of  the  more  active  members  of  the  native  missionary 
society. 

Among  the  women.  Miss  Faulding  continued  to 
work  vnth.  much  acceptance,  and  to  this  day  the  name 
and  memory  of  "Miss  Fu"  is  cherished  in  many  a 
mother's  heart. 

By  midsummer,  1871,  less  than  five  years  from 
the  commencement  of  this  Hang-chau  work,  the  little 


•Pronounce  dzew,  rhyming  with  dew. 


THE    ]S"EXT    SIX    TEARS.  177 

church  had  grown  to  more  than  fifty  members,  and 
steady  work  was  established  in  foiir  out-stations, 
ministered  to  from  week  to  week  by  the  members  of 
the  church. 

One  of  Mr.  McCarthy's  most  important  duties  all 
this  time  had  been  the  training  of  these  native 
helpers,  many  of  whom  worked  at  their  own  expense; 
and  from  this  little  band  of  fellow-laborers,  as  well 
as  from  the  boys  in  Miss  Faulding's  school,  not  a 
few  of  the  present  valued  pastors  and  evangelists 
have  come. 

Xative  helpers  used  to  go  with  Mr.  McCarthy  to 
the  tea  shops,  where  they  would  take  turns  with  him 
in  speaking  to  the  crowds  that  gathered  round  the 
foreigner.  Any  who  could  be  trusted  were  sent 
further  afield  to  the  out-stations  and  regions  beyond, 
while  others  were  kept  with  Mr.  McCarthy,  for  a 
time  of  Bible  study,  to  learn  the  tniths  they  would 
afterwards  teach  their  neighbors. 

In  the  early  records  of  the  Mission  there  are  many 
references  to  the  boys'  and  girls'  schools  under  Miss 
Faulding's  supervision.  Many  of  the  pupils  became 
staunch  Christians  and  earnest  workers. 

In  a  letter  home  we  read:  "Several  have  now  com- 
mitted to  memory  the  whole  'New  Testament,  with 
the  exception  of  two  of  the  Gospels. 

"The  children  are  all  so  glad  to  be  here.  They 
look  upon  it  more  in  the  light  of  a  happy  home  than 
a  school,  and  I  like  it  to  be  so."  No  wonder  the 
pupils  turned  out  well! 

12 


IV  O  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Hang-chau  was  not,  however,  a  very  healthy  city, 
and  her  labors  early  and  late,  at  home  and  abroad, 
began  to  tell  upon  Miss  Faulding's  health.  In  1871 
she  was  ordered  home  and  took  the  journey  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Meadows. 

Xot  long  after,  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  whose  health 
had  been  failing  for  some  time  was  obliged  to  return 
to  England.  Happily,  however,  the  journey  restored 
him,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  winter  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Faulding.  They  settled 
in  North  London,  near  the  well-known  Mildway  Con- 
ference Hall,  at  first  in  lodgings,  and  then  at  6  Pyr- 
land  road,  which,  with  the  neighboring  houses,  con- 
tinued to  be  the  home  center  of  the  Mission  for  many 
years.  During  this  visit  home  two  important  changes 
came  in  the  work. 

All  these  years  the  entire  home  department  of  the 
Mission  had  been  lovingly  and  ably  carried  on  by 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berger.  They  were  advanced  in  years, 
however,  and  as  the  work  and  the  responsibility 
steadily  increased,  it  became  more  than  they  could 
manage.  Very  reluctantly,  they  felt  compelled  to 
resign.  In  doing  so,  Mr.  Berger  wrote  a  loving  letter 
to  Mr.  Taylor,  assuring  him  of  his  continued  interest 
in  the  work.    A  few  lines  may  be  quoted: 

"Failing  health  on  the  part  of  myself  and  my  dear 
wife,  combined  with  other  increasing  claims,  unmis- 
takably indicate  the  necessity  for  this  step.  Our 
sympathies  with  the  work  are  as  warm  as  ever.  .   .   . 

"My  relation  with  dear  Mr.  Taylor  has  been  one 


THE    NKXT    SIX    YEARS.  179 

of  unbroken  and  harmonious  fellowship,  to  which  I 
shall  ever  look  back  with  feelings  of  satisfaction  and 
gratitude. '' 

The  work  laid  down  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Berger,  Mr. 
Taylor  undertook.  For  a  time  he  bore  it  single- 
handed,  but  he  was  home  on  furlough  and  needed 
rest.  A  very  kind  letter  came  to  him  about  this  time 
from  two  warm  personal  friends,  Mr.  John  Challice 
and  Mr.  William  Hall,  reminding  Mr.  Taylor  of  the 
advice  of  Jethro,  "The  thing  thou  doest  is  not  good, 
thou  wilt  surely  wear  away,"  and  offering  to  render 
very  gladly  any  help  they  could.  This  raised  a  new 
question  in  Mr.  Taylor's  mind.  He  had  often  been 
helped  in  China  by  counsel  with  the  more  experienced 
workers.  Why  should  not  a  little  circle  of  friends 
at  home,  who  were  agreed  in  earnest  desire  for 
China's  enlightenment,  and  who  cordially  approved 
of  the  main  principles  of  the  work,  be  permanently 
associated  as  an  advisory  council?  As  a  result,  after 
much  prayer,  such  a  council  was  invited.  And  from 
this  time  fonvard,  the  "London  Coimcil"  has  been 
one  of  the  mainstays  of  the  China  Inland  Mission. 
One  of  the  original  members,  Mr.  Challice,  became 
the  Treasurer,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  Hill  the  Honorary 
Secretary,  and  one  of  the  members  of  the  Mission, 
Mr.  Henry  Soltau,  became  Assistant  Secretary. 

Within  a  year,  in  the  fall  of  1872,  we  find  Mr. 
Taylor  returning  to  China,  leaving  the  entire  home 
department  of  the  work  to  the  new  council,  and  it 
was  easy  to  understand  his  gratitude  to  God  and  to 


180  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

His  servants  who  had  thus  undertaken  this  most  im- 
portant ministry. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
received  a  very  cordial  welcome  in  China.  On  ar- 
rival there  they  proceeded  to  Hang-chan,  and  noted, 
with  great  satisfaction  and  thanksgiving,  the  changes 
six  years  had  wrought,  from  the  time  they  settled 
there,  in  1866.  Then  Mng-po  and  three  neighboring 
cities  were  manned  by  seven  workers.  Now  sixteen 
stations  in  four  provinces  were  occupied  by  thirty 
missionaries. 

New  Year's  eve  was  spent,  as  usual,  in  fasting  and 
waiting  upon  God,  praying  especially  that  the  new 
year,  1873,  might  be  one  of  definite  progress  toward 
the  interior,  those  nine  inland  provinces  that  were 
still  without  a  messenger  for  Christ.  The  progress 
they  prayed  for,  undeterred  by  the  fact  that  1872 
had  been  a  year  of  financial  straitness,  was  granted 
graciously.  The  number  of  stations  and  out-stations 
was  nearly  doubled,  eleven  new  stations  and  out-sta- 
tions being  opened  within  the  year.  But  they  were 
all  located  in  four  provinces,  in  which  the  work  had 
been  established  for  some  time.  Among  the  new 
stations  was  Shanghai,  which  has  ever  since  been  the 
business  center  of  the  Mission,  an  obviously  necessary 
arrangement  which  could  be  no  longer  overlooked. 
Funds  continued  low,  however.  The  matter  was 
therefore  brought  before  the  Lord  again  at  the  close 
of  1873,  and,  unknown  to  them,  the  answer,  both  in 
men  aud  money,  was  already  on  the  way. 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEATfS.  181 

For  some  time  tlie  Council  in  London  had  been 
wishing  to  send  out  reinforcements,  and  two,  indeed, 
had  gone;  but  at  the  close  of  the  year  they  were  much 
cast  on  God  for  more  men  and  larger  means.  He 
sent  both. 

In  the  previous  year,  1872,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Grattan 
Guinness  had  commenced,  in  the  east  end  of  London, 
that  training  institution  for  missionaries  wdiicli  has 
since  become  so  widely  known,  and  from  which  over 
a  thousand  missionaries  have  gone  forth  into  almost 
every  missionary  country  in  the  world.  Two  of  the 
very  first  to  leave  this  consecrated  home  were  Henry 
Taylor  and  Frederick  Bailer,  who  offered  themselves 
for  China.  They  were  heartily  recommended  by  Dr. 
Guinness,  and  were  accepted  with  all  confidence  for 
the  foTAvard  movement  which  was  so  much  on  the 
hearts  of  all. 

About  this  time,  also,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judd,  whose 
brief  furlough  was  over,  were  handed  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  for  new^  workers  and  new  work.  Other 
remarkable  answers  to  prayer  continued  to  encourage 
the  faith  of  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  fellow-miJ^sionaries. 
One  of  these,  received  early  in  December,  1873,  said: 
"In  two  months'  time  I  hope  to  place  in  the  hands 
of  your  council  of  arrangement  the  sum  of  eight  hun- 
dred pounds  for  the  further  expansion  of  the  inland 
China  work.  Please  remember — for  fresh  prov- 
inces." 

"Keed  I  say,"  Mr.  Taylor  adds,  ^'that  when  a  copy 


182  THESE    FOPvTY    YEARS. 

of  this  letter  reached  me  in  China  it  caused  my  heart 
to  sing  for  joy?" 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judd  went  forward  to  Wu-ch'ang, 
the  capital  of  Ilii-peh,  and  there  established  what 
they  trusted  would  become  the  basis  for  the  new 
western  work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission.  'Not  long 
after,  another  sum  of  three  thousand  pounds  was 
given  for  work  in  western  China  by  donors  who 
Avished  their  names  withheld. 

As  is  well  known,  Wu-ch'ang  is  the  chief  govern- 
ing city  of  central  China,  and  is  situated  at  the  head 
of  the  more  na^dgable  lower  Yang-tse,  just  opposite 
Han-kow,  that  great  commercial  metropolis  to  and 
from  which  large  ocean-going  steamers  carry  mer- 
chandise. In  these  two  cities  and  the  adjacent  Han- 
yang, three  cities  in  one,  there  is  a  total  population 
of  not  less  than  two  millions. 

AYu-ch'ang  is  not  merely  the  capital  of  Hu-peh  and 
residence  of  the  governor,  but  also  the  seat  of  the 
viceroy  of  Hu-peh  and  Hu-nan. 

Time  fails  to  tell  of  the  rapid  development  during 
these  years  of  the  churches  in  the  older  stations,  ex- 
cept in  the  briefest  possible  manner. 

AVen-chau,  the  southernmost  station  in  Cheh-kiang, 
which  was  opened,  it  will  be  remembered,  in  1867, 
proved  an  exceptionally  difficult  place.  But  the  thing 
that  tells  in  China  is  hard  work  and  keeping  at  it. 
George  Stott,  and  from  1870  onwards  Mrs.  Stott, 
were  the  right  kind  of  people  for  that  post.  Mr.  Stott 
had  said,  in  Scotland,  ''1  had  not  thought  of  nmning 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  183 

away,"  and  he  was  put  to  the  test.  The  city  was 
placarded,  the  mob  gathered,  burst  into  the  house, 
and  asked  him  why  he  did  not  go.  "We  have  come 
to  turn  you  out,"  they  said.  "Why  don't  you  run 
away?" 

Mr.  Stott  looked  them  squarely  in  the  faces,  cour- 
ageous because  he  knew  the  Lord  was  Avith  him,  and 
had  sent  him  to  Wen-chau.  "Run  away!"  he  said. 
"How  in  the  world  do  you  expect  a  man  with  one  leg 
to  run  away?" 

The  crowd  began  to  smile.  A  Chinese  crowd  is 
generally  won  if  it  can  be  made  to  laugh.  It  proved 
so  in  this  case. 

They  said,  "He  is  harmless,  let  him  alone,"  and 
left. 

Mr.  Stott  is  no  longer  with  us.  On  Easter  Sunday, 
1889,  he  was  called  to  his  reward. 

"This  is  what  we  live  for,"  he  wrote  in  one  of  his 
letters  home,  "what  we  pray  and  hope  for — to  lead 
souls  to  Christ.  If  we  fail  in  this,  our  lives  are  a 
failure;  if  successful  here,  then  our  lives  are  a  suc- 
cess. We  want  to  lay  up  riches  for  eternity  and  to 
put  jewels  in  the  Saviour's  crown." 

Once,  in  the  early  days,  Mr.  Stott  was  for  three 
weeks  entirely  without  money.  A  merchant,  with 
whom  he  had  done  business,  called  upon  him. 

^^Ir.  Stott,  how  is  it  that  you  have  not  been  in  to 
order  rice  of  late?    Yours  must  be  nearly  finished." 

"The  rice  is  almost  come  to  an  end,"  he  answered, 
"but  I  cannot  order  more  just  now." 


18-i  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

"Why  not?''  queried  liis  friend,  insistently. 

"Well,  if  you  must  know,  simply  because  I  have 
no  money  to  pay  for  it." 

Soon  after  the  man  sent,  as  a  gift,  two  coolie  loads 
of  rice  and  three  thousand  cash  (about  three  dollars 
gold).  When  this  was  finished,  the  same  kind  friend 
again  supplied  the  need. 

"I  certainly  had  some  of  the  nearest  approaches 
to  God  during  those  twenty-one  days  that  I  have  evev 
experienced,"  wrote  Mr.  Stott. 

Among  the  early  converts  was  a  priest,  a  Buddhist 
priest.  '*A  very  unlikely  inquirer,"  thought  the 
native  assistant  when  first  they  met;  but  he  treated 
him  courteously,  and  the  priest  came  again. 

^'I  want  to  buy  some  more  books,"  he  said  gravely. 
"I,  too,  believe  in  Chiist." 

And  so  it  proved.  Abandoning  his  profession  and 
his  living  in  the  idol  temple,  he  became  a  private 
citizen,  as  the  Chinese  express  it,  supporting  himself 
on  a  farm  in  his  native  place. 

Ueference  has  already  been  made  to  Mr.  Stott's 
boys'  school  which  proved  of  innnense  help,  like  that 
at  Hang-chau,  in  training  Christians  for  the  future 
work. 

About  the  time  to  which  w^e  have  now  come,  1874, 
an  out-station  was  opened  at  P'ing-yang  (locally  pro- 
nounced Bing-yae).  Rapidly  the  work  has  growm 
there  since.  It  is  now  a  large  and  flourishing  inde- 
pendent station.  At  the  present  time  (1902)  there 
is  scarcely  a  station  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEAKS.  185 

which  gives  more  cause  for  thankf uhiess  to  God  than 
this  district  of  Wen-chaii.  Quite  a  nuniLer  of  un- 
paid helpers  are  regularly  engaged  every  Sunday  in 
many  of  the  surrounding  towns  and  villages.  The 
church  members  number  over  a  thousand,  including 
the  whole  district,  with  a  number  of  inquirers  on 
probation,  waiting  for  admission  to  the  church. 

Mrs.  Stott's  work  among  the  women  of  that  station 
has  been  most  encouraging,  though  during  the  first 
seven  years  but  one  woman  had  come  to  know  the 
Lord.  Perseverance  carried  her  through,  until  she 
was  able  to  say  of  three  of  the  believers,  the  outcome 
of  cottage  meetings  of  only  twos  and  threes,  "They 
were  the  finest  Christian  women  I  have  known  any- 
where, a  perfect  joy  to  me." 

Before  we  turn  from  this  interesting  station,  one 
other  little  incident,  a  sample  of  many  similar  wild 
stories  circulated  against  the  missionaries,  must  be 
told:  One  Sunday  afternoon  Mr.  Stott  was  preach- 
ing to  a  considerable  audience,  and  had  occasion  to 
look  once  or  twice  at  his  watch.  One  of  the  men 
asked  his  neighbor  anxiously: 

"What  is  that?" 

"That?  Don't  you  know  what  that  is?  It  is  a  hocus- 
pocus  instrument  by  which  he  can  tell  just  how  many 
people  are  being  deceived  by  his  foolish  talk." 

But  nothing  discouraged  George  Stott.  He  kept 
right  on;  and  now,  though  he  is  gone,  his  work  still 
prospers. 


186  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Xext,  to  the  north,  is  the  miportant  city  of  T'ai- 
chau,  now  one  of  the  most  important  missionary  sta- 
tions in  China,  one  in  which  converts  have  been  ad- 
mitted to  fellowship,  literally,  by  hundreds.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Eudland  have  been  in  charge  of  the  work  since 
1870,  when  there  was  a  promising  little  church  of  six 
or  seven  members,  until  now  the  membership  in  that 
district  numbers  well  over  two  thousand.  Many  in- 
teresting stories  of  that  delightful  station  might  be 
told  if  space  permitted.  One  brief  incident  must 
suffice. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  helpers  at  that  center 
was  a  man  named  Yi-chun.  He  was  seated  in  the 
street  chapel  one  day,  not  exactly  casting  the  net  for 
fish,  but  rather  angling.  A  man  came  in,  bought 
several  books,  and  seemed  interested. 

"You  were  not,  then,  always  a  sing-Yie-su-go- 
nying?"    (Believer-in- Jesus.) 

"Xo,''  answered  Yi-chun,  naming  the  religious  or- 
der to  which  he  once  belonged. 

"Strange !  I  am  also  an  unworthy  member  of  that 
sect,"  exclaimed  the  guest. 

And  Yi-chun  gave  him  the  reasons  why  he  had 
abandoned  his  old  faith  for  the  new,  and  told  of  the 
peace  he  now  enjoyed  in  believing. 

"This  is  just  what  I  want,"  the  other  man  replied. 
And  before  long  he,  too,  was  an  out-and-out  believer, 
working  earnestly  among  his  neighbors  in  the  coun- 
tiy.  Several  of  these  believed  and  came  into  the  city 
to  learn  more  perfectly  the  way  of  life.     At  last  a 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  187 

deputation  came,  begging  for  a  teacher  to  go  and  live 
among  them. 

"We  will  provide  a  chapel/'  they  said,  "and  a 
preacher's  house."  In  fact,  a  house  had  already  been 
bought  and  was  now  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Mission.  Yi-chun  visited  this  place,  Dien-tsi,  which 
soon  became  an  important  center  of  aggressive  work. 
It  is  now  an  active,  energetic  church. 

One  important  out-station  from  T'ai-chau  was 
opened  by  Mr.  Taylor  himself,  or,  perhaps,  rather 
was  opened  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  This  was  the 
important  city  of  T'ai-p'ing,  where  from  the  first  the 
work  proved  promising.  One  of  the  new  members 
there  was  called  away  from  home,  and  before  his 
return  his  wife  was  taken  seriously  ill.  A  native 
doctor  had  been  consulted,  and  had  ordered  idol  wor- 
ship, which  was  just  in  full  swing  when  the  husband 
returned. 

"Take  these  things  away,"  he  said  indignantly. 
"Stop  the  ceremony  at  once.  I  will  not  have  such 
folly  in  my  house." 

Curses  and  abuse  were  showered  upon  him,  but  he 
cared  for  none  of  these  things. 

"I  will  pray  to  the  true  God,  who  can  and  will 
restore  my  wife."  And  He  did.  The  impression 
thus  produced  resulted  in  no  small  increase  of  interest 
in  that  district. 

"Writing  comparatively  recently  of  this  work  in 
Cheh-kiang,  Mr.  Meadow^s  for  many  years  superin- 
tendent of  the  province,  concludes : 


188  THESE    FORTY   YKARS. 

"The  gTOwth  of  tlie  converts  is  most  healthy.  The 
number  and  efficiency  of  our  unpaid  pastors  and 
teachers  never  increased  more  rapidly.  The  progress 
of  the  schools  was  never  so  encouraging,  and  evan- 
gelistic work  never  of  greater  extent  in  Cheh-kiang 
than  it  has  been  this  year." 

Three  or  four  days'  journey  to  the  north  of  T'ai- 
chau  stands  the  city  of  Fung-hua,  the  first  station 
opened  from  Ning-po  in  the  early  sixties.  Here,  also, 
one  of  the  fii*st  native  workers  was  a  convert  of  the 
early  days  when  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr.  Jones  were 
associated  in  the  Mng-po  work.  His  name  was  Fong. 
He,  too,  mth  Wang,  of  Hang-chau,  was  one  of  the 
volunteer  helpers  in  the  hospital  in  1859.  Young 
Fong  had  been  a  basket  maker,  and  strolled  into  the 
chapel  one  day  with  some  companions  to  hear  the 
strange  new  doctrine.  From  the  first,  his  interest 
in  what  he  heard  could  not  be  hid. 

''You  will  soon  be  eating  the  foreign  devils' 
religion,''  his  neighbors  warned  him,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose. Before  long  he  took  a  bold  stand  as  a  believer, 
and  at  once  went  to  his  employer  to  ask  a  favor.  He 
wanted  to  be  allowed  to  work  so  hard  that  he  would 
do  seven  days'  work  in  six,  and  then  to  keep  the 
Sabbatli.     His  employer,  seeing  an  advantage,  said: 

"Well,  yes;  but  you  would  lose  a  day's  wages." 

Fong  knew  this,  and  also  that  he  Avould  lose  a 
day's  rice  and  Avould  have  to  spend  Saturday's  wages 
in  buying  Sunday's  food.  It  meant  two-sevenths  of 
his  wages;  but  the  bargain  was  made,  and  kept,  for 


THE    NEXT    SIX   YEARS.  180 

a  time.  One  day  the  basket  maker  was  sent  for  by 
some  wealthy  customers.  He  waited  in  the  outer  hall 
until  the  ladies,  in  their  shimmering  silks  and  satins, 
came  out  to  see  him.  They  explained  what  they 
wanted:  a  kind  of  basket  to  hold  incense. 

^Tei  neng  keo"  (I  cannot),  Fong  replied,  and  ex- 
plained that  he  was  now  a  Christian,  and  not  only  did 
not  believe  in  idols,  but  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  their  worship. 

The  astonishment  and  curiosity  of  the  ladies  were 
considerably  aroused,  and  they  listened  for  a  while, 
as  the  young  believer  preached  with  all  his  heart  the 
glad  tidings  of  salvation. 

"Strange  infatuation!"  they  said  to  themselves,  and 
tripped  lightly  away  on  their  tiny  feet. 

An  artisan  whom  Fong  had  not  noticed,  a  man  who 
had  been  employed  in  painting  the  handsome  wood- 
work, came  forward  and  said: 

"What  was  that  you  were  saying  to  the  ladies?  I 
heard  it,  but  it  was  so  good  I  want  to  hear  it  all 
again." 

Very  gladly  did  the  basket  maker  repeat  the  good, 
glad  story,  so  new  to  him.  The  painter's  name  was 
Wang  Lae-djun,  and  he  became  an  earnest,  whole- 
hearted believer  from  the  first.  He  worked  among 
his  fellow-countrymen,  became  a  native  assistant  in 
the  hospital,  and  in  course  of  time  was  ordained 
pastor  of  the  little  Hang-chau  church. 

But  Font's  trials  were  not  over.    When  the  busy 


190  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

season  came  around,  his  master  wanted  him  to  work 
Sundays. 

^^ut  we  agreed,"  the  man  began  to  reply. 

"isTever  mind  what  we  agreed.  I  have  a  great  deal 
of  work  on  hand,  and  if  you  mil  not  come  to-morrow 
you  need "  not  come  again  at  all.  You  are  dis- 
missed.'^ 

This  was  a  heavy  blow,  but  Fong  knew  whom  he 
had  believed,  and  he  set  to  work  to  serve  Him  with 
all  his  heart.  After  a  happy  Sunday  he  tried  to  ob- 
tain work  on  Monday  morning.  But  no  one  would 
have  him.  He  found  that  his  master  had  gone  around 
to  the  whole  "hang"  or  guild  of  basket  makers,  and 
had  obtained  a  promise  that  if  his  man  applied  for 
work  on  Monday  they  would  decline  his  services.  So 
Fong  improved  his  leisure  by  preaching  in  the  tea 
shops.  An  old  man  listened  with  marked  interest. 
They  got  into  conversation,  and  finally  Fong  brought 
him  to  the  "Gospel  Hall"  to  Mr.  Taylor. 

"The  devil  has  prevented  my  getting  work  to-day 
because  I  would  not  work  on  Sunday,  so  I  have  been 
working  for  Jesus  instead,  and  here  is  a  man  I  have 
won  for  Him."  And  Fong  introduced  Wang,  of 
Ho-si. 

"If  I  can't  get  work  to-morrow,  I  shall  tiy  to  win 
another  soul  for  the  Master."  But  he  did  get  work. 
The  first  man  he  applied  to  was  only  too  glad  to 
engage  him,  for  he  knew  he  was  dependable  and  a 
good  worker. 

"I  promised  your  old  master  I  would  not  take  you 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEABS.  191 

on  if  jou  came  on  Monday,  but  I  said  nothing  about 
Tuesday!'' 

So  Fong  was  back  at  work.  Meanwhile,  and  for  a 
good  many  days  to  come,  Mr.  Taylor  was  occupied 
with  old  Wang,  of  Ho-si.  He  had  a  strange  tale  to 
tell.  Some  months  before,  he  said,  he  had  been  lying 
at  the  point  of  death,  when  a  voice  called.  Too  weak 
to  walk  unaided,  he  rose  from  his  bed,  and  steadying 
himself  by  the  walls  and  furniture,  crept  around  to 
the  door  and  opened  it,  but  there  was  no  one  there. 
A  little  later  the  same  voice  called  his  name,  and 
again  with  difficulty  he  made  his  way  to  the  door. 
Still  there  was  no  one,  and  when  a  third  time  the 
same  call  came,  he  covered  his  head  and  trembled, 
thinking  it  must  surely  be  the  angel  of  death!  The 
voice,  however,  went  on  quietly  to  direct  him  to  make 
an  infusion  of  a  well-known  herb,  which  would  cer- 
tainly cure  him.  Then  he  was  to  go  into  the  city, 
where  he  would  hear  a  new  doctrine  which  he  must 
believe.  His  people  came  home  and  prepared  the 
medicine;  he  speedily  recovered,  and  came  into  the 
city,  cutting  grass  for  a  living  and  selling  it  where 
he  could.  Some  months  passed,  and  one  day,  his 
grass  sold,  he  went  into  a  tea  shop  to  rest.  Here  he 
met  Fong,  and  heard  the  "new  religion,"  which  he 
was  convinced  was  the  one  he  had  been  told  to  be- 
lieve. 

"Wang  became  an  earnest  and  most  indefatigable 
evangelist  in  his  own  district  of  Ho-si,  where  a  bright 
little  church  sprang  up,  an  out-station  of  Fung-hua. 


192  THESE   FORTY   TEARS. 

Witliin  a  radius  of  ten  miles  from  that  old  fanner's 
home,  Mr.  Taylor  tells,  there  was  scarcely  an  adult 
who  had  not  heard  the  Gospel  from  his  lips! 

At  Ning-hai,  another  Fung-hua  out-station,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Crombie  were  greatly  encouraged  by  the 
steady  growth  of  the  church,  and  by  the  keen  in- 
terest the  Christians  took  in  the  work  of  God  else- 
where. On  one  occasion,  when  Mr.  Taylor  was  visit- 
ing the  district,  they  made  many  inquiries  about  the 
work  at  other  stations,  about  which  they  were  evi- 
dently well  infonned,  and  then  said: 

"How  are  Mr.  Mu  and  Mr.  Sang  getting  on?  Have 
you  any  recent  news  of  themf' 

"Who  can  Mr.  Mu  and  Mr.  Sang  be?"  thought  Mr. 
Taylor.     "We  have  no  workers  of  those  names." 

But  they  had  heard  something  of  Moody  and 
Sankey,  and  were  delighted  to  hear  the  further  news 
Mr.  Taylor  gave  them. 

"Ah,"  said  one,  "the  opium  traffic  will  soon  be 
stopped  if  so  many  people  are  being  converted  in 
England." 

Would  to  Gwl  that  there  were  more  prospect  of 
that  hope  being  realized. 

*  ^5-  -H-  -K-  *  *  -x- 

The  establishment  of  a  new  center  at  Wu-ch'ang, 
to  be  the  basis  of  a  forward  movement  into  the  more 
remote  interior,  is  the  more  remarkable,  from  the 
fact  that  this  was  a  time  of  exceptional  difficulty  in 
the  matter  of  funds. 

It  required  the  utmost  economy  to  carry  on  the 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  193 

work  and  keep  expenses  down  to  five  hundred  dollars 
a  week,  for,  including  native  helpers,  there  were 
more  than  a  hundred  workers,  besides  missionaries' 
children,  and  the  children  in  the  schools  another 
seventy.  There  were  fifty  houses  to  keep  in  repair, 
and  rent  to  pay  for  most.  There  were  the  expenses 
of  traveling  between  the  stations  and  of  evangelistic 
tours,  besides  the  inevitable  and  costly  furlough  for 
invalid  workers. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  first  half  of  this  year, 
1874,  was  probably  one  of  as  great  difficulty  in  this 
respect  as  has  ever  come  to  the  Mission.  It  may  be 
an  encouragement  to  faith  to  give  some  details.  Dur- 
ing the  first  three  months  of  the  year,  instead  of  the 
income  averaging  ^ve  hundred  dollars  a  week,  it  was 
only  about  half  that  sum;  but,  happily,  though  fimds 
had  been  low  the  previous  year  also,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  there  had  been  a  little  improvement 
toward  the  close,  which  left  small  balances  on  hand 
at  most  of  the  stations.  But  for  this,  the  workers 
could  not  possibly  have  managed.  But  this  also  was 
of  the  Lord's  arranging.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
quarter,  naturally,  funds  were  low  at  all  the  stations, 
and  the  balances  in  hand  on  January  1st  were  re- 
duced to  near  the  vanishing  point.  On  the  first  of 
April  there  were  but  twenty-five  dollars  in  the  gen- 
eral exchequer.  On  the  '7th  of  April  Mr.  Taylor 
reached  Shanghai  from  a  journey,  hoping  to  find 
considerable  remittances  from  home. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  at  this  time  the  return 

18  " 


194  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

to  England  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevenson  and  their 
family  was  an  imperative  necessity.  Mrs.  Steven- 
son's life  depended  upon  it;  but  there  were  no  funds 
available.  Several  of  the  workers  united  in  prayer, 
and  gifts  began  to  come  in  one  after  another  from 
various  members  of  the  Mission.  One  sent  a  hundred 
dollars;  another,  a  little  later,  two  hundred;  a  third, 
two  hundred  and  twenty;  three  sent  ten  dollars,  and 
another  fifty.  Other  small  gifts  provided  for  the 
necessary  expenditure  by  the  way,  and  thus,  with  an 
empty  exchequer,  this  grave  need  was  met. 

Letters  to  the  home  council  are,  of  course,  very 
rarely  published,  but  part  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Taylor 
will  give,  better  than  anything  else,  perhaps,  an  in- 
sight into  the  aifairs  of  the  Mission. 

"After  proving  God's  faithfulness  for  many  years, 
I  can  testify  that  times  of  want  have  ever  been  times 
of  special  blessing,  or  have  led  to  them.  ISTever  has 
the  work  entailed  more  real  trial,  or  so  much  exercise 
of  faith,  as  recently.  The  sickness  of  our  beloved 
sister.  Miss  Blatchley,  the  needs  of  my  dear  children, 
the  state  of  our  Mission  funds,  the  changes  required 
to  allow  of  some  going  home,  of  others  coming  out, 
and  of  the  further  extension  of  the  work,  and  many 
other  things  not  easily  expressed  in  writing,  would 
be  crushing  anxieties  if  we  were  to  bear  them.  But 
the  Lord  bears  us,  and  them  too,  and  makes  our 
hearts  so  very  glad  in  Himself  alone — not  in  Him- 
self plus  a  bank  balance — tliat  I  have  never  known 
greater  freedom  from  anxiety  and  care. 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  195 

"The  other  week,  when  I  reached  Shanghai  (on 
April  7th),  we  were  in  great  and  immediate  need  .  .  . 
I  cast  the  burden  on  the  Lord,  ^ext  morning,  when 
awaking,  He  gave  me  the  word — "I  know  their  sor- 
rows, and  I  am  come  down  to  deliver  them,"  and 
before  6  A.  M.  I  was  as  sure  that  help  was  at  hand 
as  when,  at  noon,  I  received  a  letter  containing  more 
than  £300.  N"ow  our  need  is  again  great  and  urgent, 
but  God  is  greater  and  more  near,  and  all  will  be 
well.  Oh!  the  joy  of  knowing  the  living  God!  I 
am  but  His  agent." 

In  various  ways  "the  most  urgent  necessities  of 
May  were  met,  leaving  us  all  the  promises  of  God 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  June,  and  nothing  else  be- 
sides. 

"I  asked  urgent  prayer  of  some  of  the  brethren 
for  £500  to  cover  the  manifest  and  unavoidable  out- 
lay of  that  month.  Perhaps  never  in  the  history  of 
the  Mission  have  we  all  been  so  low  together. 

^Trom  the  Hon.  Secretaries  at  home  I  received 
during  the  month  a  sum  of  over  £500,  and  in  China, 
in  ways  I  cannot  now  detail,  $290.75  besides." 

During  this  time  of  financial  difficulty  Mr.  Taylor's 
heart  was  often  cheered  by  hearty  and  encouraging 
words  from  his  fellow-missionaries,  which  it  would 
take  too  long  to  quote  in  detail. 

One  brief  letter,  acknowledging  a  remittance  re- 
ceived on  the  16th  of  June,  says:  "My  last  cash  was 
spent  yesterday  morning,  and  I  was  waiting  on  our 
Heavenly  Father  to-day  for  money." 


196  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Another  acknowledgment  adds,  "For  the  first  time 
I  was  unable  to  send  for  the  usual  supply  of  rice  for 
my  school  children,  but  neither  they  nor  we  have 
lacked  one  single  meal." 

From  another  station  word  was  received  that  on 
June  12th,  when  the  remittance  came,  they  had  not  a 
single  dollar  left.  "How  gracious  of  the  Lord,"  they 
added,  "to  hear  our  united  cry!" 


All  this  was  severe  testing,  of  course,  but  God 
makes  no  mistakes.  A  still  more  serious  difficulty 
presented  itself  just  at  this  time  in  the  serious  illness 
of  ]\[iss  Blatchley. 

From  the  fall  of  1872,  when  Mr.  Taylor  left  for 
China,  till  the  early  summer  of  1874,  she  had  been 
practical  factotum  for  the  Mission  at  home.  It  is 
difficult  now  to  realize  how  important  her  life  had 
become  to  the  Mission.  In  those  earlier  days  there 
were  no  clerks,  no  office,  no  editorial  secretary. 
iSTo  one  but  Miss  Blatchley.  And  she  was  just  the 
one.  Talented,  spiritual,  deeply  consecrated,  and  full 
of  love  to  the  Lord  and  to  His  service.  Miss  Blatchley 
seemed  indispensable  to  the  work,  and  now  she  was 
seriously  and  increasingly  prostrated. 

There  was  no  one  to  fill  the  gap,  so  Mr.  Taylor 
himself  hurriedly  returned  from  China.  As  long  as 
possible  Miss  Blatchley  worked  on,  carrying  the 
heavy  correspondence,  receiving  and  acknowledging 
donations,   welcoming  and  encouraging  candidates. 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS. 


197 


editing  the  ''Occasional  Paper,"  addressing  wrappers 
and  sending  it  ont — all  those  thousand  and  one  things 
that  devolve  upon  the  home  department  of  a  Mission. 

The  writer  and  his  brothers  and  sister  will  never 
forget  the  debt  which  they,  personally,  owe  to  this 
kind  friend,  who  had  mothered  them  during  the  long 
absence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  in  China,  in  addition 
to  all  her  other  duties.  It  was  with  great  satisfaction 
that  yhe  looked  forward  to  the  speedy  return  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Taylor. 

"Tliey  Avill  be  here  in  a  few  weeks,"  she  said,  and 
thanked  God. 

But  before  they  could  arrive,  on  the  25th  of  July, 
Miss  Elatchley  received  her  home  call,  and  was  wel- 
comed to  her  reward  by  the  Master  she  loved  and 
served  so  well. 

The  friends  of  the  Mission  at  home,  and  especially 
the  council  and  secretaries,  who  had  done  all  they 
could  to  lighten  Miss  Blatchley's  load,  very  gladly 
welcomed  home  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hudson  Taylor.  But 
trouble  came  upon  trouble.  Mr.  Taylor  himself  had 
had  a  serious  fall  on  a  Yang-tse  river  steamer  shortly 
before  leaving  China,  and  the  symptoms  of  concus- 
sion of  the  spine  developed,  as  they  frequently  do, 
more  markedly  as  the  months  went  by.  Braced  up, 
as  usual,  by  the  voyage,  Mr.  Taylor  was  able  to  hold 
en  for  a  few  weeks,  but  the  many  responsibilities  at 
home  did  not  facilitate  recuperation,  and  before  long 
we  find  him  a  complete  invalid,  partially  paralyzed, 
and  wholly  unable  to  leave  his  couch.     What  would 


198  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

become  of  the  Mission  now?  Funds  had  long  been 
low,  the  devoted  Miss  Blatchley  was  gone,  and  now 
Mr.  Taylor  himself  was  a  helpless  invalid,  unable 
even  to  put  pen  to  paper! 

Ten  or  twenty  letters  would  come  daily,  and  all 
the  varied  responsibilities  of  the  home  branch  of  the 
work.  About  this  time  Mrs.  Taylor  also  was  laid 
aside  for  awhile.  Things  looked  black,  indeed,  for 
the  China  Inland  Mission. 

But  are  not  such  crises  the  very  times  when  the 
Lord  delights  to  cheer  His  servants  by  gracious  and 
refreshing  answers  to  prayer? 

A  friend  would  call  on  Mr.  Taylor.  "Can  I  help 
you  by  writing  an  hour  or  two  this  morning?"  he 
would  ask. 

'TTes,  indeed,"  was  the  grateful  reply.  "See  what 
a  number  of  letters  have  come  in!" 

If  this  kind  friend  could  not  stay  long  enough  to 
finish,  some  one  else  would  be  sure  to  call  in  later 
in  the  day. 

"One  of  the  happiest  times  of  my  life,"  Mr.  Hud- 
son Taylor  wrote  later,  "was  that  period  of  enforced 
inactivity,  when  I  could  do  nothing  but  rejoice  in  the 
Lord  and  wait  patiently  on  Him,  and  see  Him  every 
day  meeting  all  our  needs;  and  never,  before  or 
since  that  time,  was  my  correspondence  so  well  kept 
in  hand  and  answered  up  to  date." 

God  had  surely  a  purpose  in  thus  caring  for  the 
needs  of  the  little  Mission.  Two  hundred  millions 
in  inland  Cliina  were  still  beyond  the  reach  of  the 


KIANQ 
»AM4(0W  ;  Z.     )     "••X,    ^  -- 

KlANa-Sl 

FUH-KIEN 


KO/MQ-CHAU 


THE    NINE    STILL    UNOCCUPIED    PROVINCES." 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  199 

Gospel.  He  had  much  work  yet  for  the  China  Inland 
Mission  to  do. 

And  so,  as  the  months  flew  by,  not  only  correspon- 
dence was  answered  in  Mr.  Taylor's  room,  important 
consultations  took  place,  and  prayer  meetings  were 
held.  And,  equally  important,  Mr.  Taylor  himseif 
had  time  those  long  nights  to  ponder  and  pray  over 
(liina's  needs.  The  outcome  was  that,  toward  the 
end  of  the  year,  it  was  urgently  laid  on  his  heart 
that  the  Mission,  short  of  funds  though  it  had  been, 
and  deeply  tried  in  other  ways,  ought  to  go  definitely 
forward.  A  short  article  was  prepared,  and  published 
in  several  of  the  leading  religious  papers,  asking 
prayer  that  eighteen  young  men  should  be  raised  up 
to  go,  two  and  two,  into  the  nine  still  unoccupied 
provinces  of  China. 

A  bold  request,  indeed!  Even  if  they  were  given, 
would  they  be  able  to  go  inland?  But  this  and  many 
other  questions  were  answered  by  remembering  the 
command  of  the  Master  to  give  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature  in  every  land. 

"I  have  the  fullest  hope,"  wrote  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor  about  this  time,  "that  God  will  enable  us 
during  this  new  year,  1875,  to  commence  work  in  at 
least  two  or  three  of  these  unoccupied  provinces. 

"The  difficulties,  it  is  true,  can  scarcely  be  exag- 
gerated, but  ^the  people  that  do  know  their  God  shall 
be  strong  and  do  exploits.'  Will  not  our  friends  join 
us  in  asking  for  such  men,  and  such  only,  as  do  know 
their  God,  to  go  to  these  teeming  millions?" 


200  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

This  hope  and  prayer,  with  which  the  old  year 
ended,  was  remarkably  fulfilled  in  1875.  In  the 
spring  of  the  year  J.  W.  Stevenson  and  Henry 
Soltau  volunteered  for,  and  went  to  work  in,  the  far 
west,  on  the  Burmese  frontier.  The  former  had  for 
years  been  thinking  and  praying  about  this  step  and 
the  possibility  of  reaching  the  people  of  western 
Chijia  by  the  shorter  and  easier  route  through  Bur- 
mah. 

About  a  month  later  Henry  Taylor  and  Chang,  a 
native  Christian,  started  out  on  a  first  visit  to  Ho-nan, 
the  central  province  in  the  northern  half  of  China. 
And  in  the  early  simimer  Mr.  Judd  left  Wu-ch'ang 
for  a  pioneer  journey  into  Hu-nan,  immediately 
southwest;  and  thus,  for  the  first  time,  the  Gospel 
Avas  taken  to  these  two  most  bitterly  anti-foreign 
provinces  in  China. 

A  few  details  about  these  three  journeys — to  Bur- 
mah,  to  Ho-nan  and  to  Hu-nan — will  not  be  without 
interest. 

Stevenson  and  Soltau  started  for  Burmah  about 
March,  1875.  On  their  arrival  they  found  it  im- 
possible to  proceed  to  Bhamo,  on  the  Chinese  fron- 
tier, their  prospective  destination.  At  that  time 
upi)er  Burmah  Avas  still  an  independent  kingdom, 
under  the  sway  of  a  despotic  Prince,  whose  relations 
with  the  Indian  government  were  anything  but 
friendly. 

TJiey  at  once  entered  upon  work,  however,  among 
both  Chinese  and  Burmese,  at  Kangoon  and  Moul- 


THE    ^'EXT    SIX    YEAK«.  201 

mein,  as  well  as  holding  evangelistic  meetings  for 
the  English-speaking  residents.  And  in  the  fall  the 
way  opened  for  them  to  go  on  to  Mandalay,  the  cap- 
ital of  upper  Burmah,  where  they  hoped  to  obtain  an 
audience  with  the  King.  An  experienced  inissionary, 
Mr.  Kose,  of  the  Baptist  Board,  kindly  accompanied 
them,  and  on  their  arrival  at  the  capital  a  petition  in 
Burmese,  expressing  their  purpose  and  desires,  was 
handed  in,  to  be  presented  to  his  Majesty.  Their 
prayers  on  the  journey  up  the  Irrawaddy  were  an- 
swered, and  they  were  granted  an  audience  with- 
out delay.  On  their  arrival  at  the  palace  they  were 
conducted  to  the  council  chamber,  a  lofty  wooden 
room  with  a  handsome  painted  roof,  l^early  the 
whole  length  of  one  side  of  the  room  was  a  raised 
platform,  covered  by  a  handsome  Brussels  carpet. 
In  the  center  of  this  was  a  crimson  velvet  rug,  beau- 
tifully embroidered,  a  crimson  cushion  and  a  pair  of 
elegant  binoculars. 

"We  crouched  upon  the  floor  some  distance  from 
the  platform.  ISTear  us  were  a  dozen  or  more 
men  with  swords,  laid  in  gilded  sheaths,  on  the 
floor." 

Before  long  the  King  "entered  the  room  by  a  mas- 
sive carved  and  gilded  door,  walked  to  the  center  of 
the  platform,  and  lay  down  on  the  velvet  rug,  resting 
his  arm  on  the  crimson  cushion.  His  attendants  came 
in  by  the  side  door,  and  prostrated  themselves."  So 
did  the  ministers. 

"We  could  not  have  been  more  than  eighteen  or 


202  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

twenty  feet  from  him,  but  he  took  up  his  binoculars 
and  leisurely  surveyed  us  for  some  time." 

After  a  short  conversation  he  made  us  all  promise 
that  we  would  write  to  our  different  countries,  and 
ask  that  a  teacher  might  be  sent  to  live  in  Mandalay, 
undertaking  himself  to  support  him  and  give  him 
house  and  schools. 

"Up  there  in  Bhamo,  among  those  wild  people,  it 
is  unsafe.  They  are  not  to  be  trusted,  but  if  things 
are  unfavorable,  come  back,  and  I  will  receive  you." 

"Will  you  graciously  grant  us  some  land  at 
Ehamo?" 

"Yes,  the  ministers  shall  arrange  all  that  for  you." 

"To  our  surprise,  three  handsome  little  betel  boxes 
and  three  Bunnese  bags,  containing  one  hundred 
rupees  each,  were  brought  on  wooden  trays  and  laid 
before  us.  We  thanked  the  King  for  these  presents, 
and  said  how  unlocked  for  was  this  kindness.  He 
seemed  pleased  by  our  surprise  and  gratification. 
^When  you  go  among  those  wild  people,  act  with 
caution  and  prudence,'  he  said,  as  he  rose  to  leave." 

The  next  day  an  official  document  was  handed 
them,  containing  instructions  to  the  governor  of 
Bhamo  that  they  were  to  be  permitted  to  have  any 
eite  they  pleased  for  their  mission  work.  And  so, 
rejoicingly,  they  went  on  their  way. 

The  governor  proved  troublesome,  and  instead  of 
the  land  selected,  gave  them  an  unhealthy  and  in- 
convenient site.  There  was  nothing  to  be  done,  how- 
ever; so  they  made  it  a  matter  of  earnest  prayer  that 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  203 

the  Lord  would  either  change  the  governor's  heart, 
or  at  least  prevent  him  from  hindering  the  work. 
About  this  time  he  was  suddenly  removed  from  office, 
and  his  successor  proved  most  friendly,  and  gave  the 
land  they  had  selected. 

In  addition  to  their  evangelistic  work,  the  two  mis- 
sionaries did  what  they  could,  medically,  to  relieve 
the  sufferings  of  the  people.  Serious  epidemics  of 
"fever,  small-pox  and  measles''  carried  off  hundreds. 
Though  neither  was  a  physician,  the  fame  of  their 
medical  work  spread  so  rapidly  that  before  long  they 
not  only  had  friends  among  the  Burmese  and  Chinese 
residents,  but  also  among  the  wild  hill  tribes,  the 
Shans  and  Kah-chens  of  the  border  country,  and  even 
further  over,  into  the  Chinese  province  of  Yun-nan 
itself. 

Very  gladly  they  welcomed  reinforcements  at  the 
beginning  of  1876,  the  more  so  that  one  of  them. 
Dr.  Harvey,  was  a  medical  man.  In  the  fall  of  this 
year  one  of  the  hill  chieftains  sent  an  urgent  letter 
to  the  missionaries,  requesting  them  to  visit  a  sick 
relative.  He  sent  a  pony  and  an  escort  of  servants, 
and  made  grateful  reference  to  kindness  that  he  him- 
self had  received  at  Bhamo  some  time  before.  Won- 
dering whether  at  last  the  opportunity  had  come  to 
enter  the  needy  province  of  Yun-nan,  preparations 
were  speedily  made  for  the  journey.  Just  as  they 
were  about  to  start,  alas,  the  British  consul  wrote 
that  he  had  strict  orders  not  to  permit  their  leaving 
the  city. 


204  THESE    FOKTY   YEAIvS. 

"The  circumstances  are  peculiar,  however,"  he 
added.  ^'You  are  specially  invited,  and  are  going  to 
take  medicine  and  visit  a  sick  person.  If,  therefore, 
you  will  give  me  a  written  document,  signed,  guar- 
anteeing that  you  will  not  cross  over  into  China,  I 
will  allow  you  to  go." 

We  can  easily  imagine  their  disappointment. 
"Though  we  have  been  thus  hindered,  the  Word  of 
the  Lord  is  not  bound;  and,  thank  God,  an  entrance 
to  Yun-nan  has  been  made  by  means  of  the  printed 
page.  Chinamen  from  the  east  come  to  Bhamo  in 
crowds,  and  they  have  freely  taken  back  the  Scrip- 
tures." 

Six  weeks  were  spent  in  the  mountaineer's  home, 
and  they  were  everywhere  treated  with  great  hospi- 
tality and  kindness.  Indeed,  the  people  begged  them 
to  remain  for  good  and  teach  them  the  Gospel.  But 
they  could  not  stay.  It  was  very  tantalizing  to  be 
so  near  to  China.  A  descent  of  two  or  three  hours 
would  have  brought  them  to  Yun-nan.  From  where 
they  stood  one  day,  they  looked  out  over  "the  noble 
plain  of  Long-ch'uan,  studded  with  trees  and  well 
watered,"  but  their  way  was  barred. 

A  month  after  these  pioneers  had  left  for  Buraiah, 
in  April,  1875,  Henry  Taylor  and  his  companion, 
Chang,  started  from  Han-kow  northward  on  the  first 
missionary  tour  in  Ilo-nan.  They  visited  a  number 
of  important  towns  and  cities,  and  met  with  not  a  few 
who  seemed  truly  interested,  especially  at  Ru-ning 
Pu  were  tliey  cordially  received.    They  put  up  at  an 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  205 

inn  outside  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  among  those 
who  repeatedly  "visited  the  missionaries  were  four, 
of  whose  conversion  they  had  good  hope,  especially 
an  old  vegetarian,  who  had  been  seeking  for  years 
such  truth  as  they  had  preached,  which  satisfied,  he 
said,  the  deep  longings  of  his  soul. 

Pointing  to  his  idols,  the  old  man  said:  "These  I 
have  held  to  and  worshipped  because  I  had  nothing 
better.  !N"ow  I  have  found  Jesus,  and  I  let  them  go. 
This  doctrine  I  know  to  be  a  true  one.  My  conscience 
tells  me  it  is." 

Yery  glad,  indeed,  he  was  to  hear  that  the  mis- 
sionaries hoped  to  return  in  the  fall. 

"Do  come  and  open  a  house  in  our  city,''  he  urged. 
There  are  many  here  who,  like  me,  are  seeking  the 
true  light.'' 

When  the  missionaries  returned,  in  the  autumn, 
old  Hu  was  gone.  He  was  with  the  Saviour  he  had 
welcomed  so  eagerly.  How  thankful  the  missionaries 
were  they  had  come  when  they  did! 

Of  the  four  about  whom  they  had  been  hopeful, 
in  the  spring,  one  had  gone  elsewhere ;  two,  Mu  and 
T'ang,  remained,  and  there  seemed  no  doubt  of  their 
conversion.  They  wished  to  be  baptized,  but  Henry 
Taylor,  expecting  soon  to  come  again,  thought  it 
wiser  for  them  to  wait  and  learn  more  before  being 
received  into  the  church. 

On  this  journey  they  made  some  stay  at  Chau- 
kia-k'eo  (Jo-ja-ko),  which  is  now  the  principal  station 
in  the  province,  but  then  had  never  heard  the  Gospel. 


206  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

This  being  the  most  populous  center  between  Han- 
kow and  Pekin,  thej  stayed  for  eight  days  before 
going  further  north  to  the  provincial  capital,  K'ai- 
fung.  The  capital  was  then,  as  now,  strongly  anti- 
foreign,  owing  to  serious  trouble  with  the  Roman 
Catholics  some  years  before.  This  city  of  K'ai-fung 
has  a  special  interest  from  being  the  home  of  a  little 
colony  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  Jews,  who  have 
lived  there  for  centuries^  and  who  had  been  visited 
two  years  before  by  three  Europeans  from  Peldn. 
Ihe  visitors  had  been  obliged  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat, 
and  even  the  inn  where  they  had  stayed  was  razed 
to  the  ground. 

From  here  they  journeyed  west  to  Ho-nan  Fu, 
passing  over  rough,  poor  country  infested  with 
robbers,  but  by  God's  protection  they  were  kept  in 
peace.  (Of  course,  like  all  other  members  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission,  they  traveled  without  arms.) 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  Henry  Taylor 
made  a  third  visit  to  Ho-nan,  this  time  accompanied 
by  George  Clarke.  At  Eu-ning  they  were  joyfully 
welcomed  by  the  inquirers  Mu  and  T'ang,  whom,  in 
a  stream  outside  the  city,  they  now  baptized,  the  first 
in  this  populous  province.  They  had  both  been  work- 
ing among  their  neighbors,  and  about  thirty  showed 
an  interest  in  the  Gospel.  On  this  visit  they  suc- 
ceeded, as  they  thought,  in  opening  a  station,  renting 
premises  in  a  city  about  fifteen  miles  from  Ru-ning. 
But  they  were  not  able  to  stay,  for  after  six  happy 
weeks,  in  which  all  went  well,  the  scholars  stirred  up 


THE  n:ext  six  years.  207 

trouble,  a  riot  ensued,  and  the  missionaries  had  to 
leave. 

The  third  pioneer  visitation  of  18Y5  was  shorter — 
that  of  Mr.  Judd  to  Hu-nan.  He  and  two  native 
Christians  hired  a  boat  and  left  Wu-ch'ang  in  the 
early  summer.  After  nine  days'  journey  up  the  river 
they  reached  Yoh-chau,  the  chief  port  of  Hu-nan. 
With  great  thanksgiving  to  God  they  commenced 
work  in  this  place.  Mr.  Judd,  being  dark,  was  not 
readily  distinguished  as  a  foreigner.  They  rented, 
without  difficulty,  a  little  house,  and  preached  the 
Gospel  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  which  overlooks 
the  vast  expanse  of  the  T'ong-t'ing  lake  to  its  south 
and  west.  But,  as  so  often  in  pioneer  work,  all  went 
well  at  first;  but  no  sooner  had  premises  been  ob- 
tained, £<nd  settled  work  commenced,  than  the  ruling 
classes  began  to  stir  up  mischief.  Matters  went  from 
bad  to  worse,  till,  very  reluctantly,  under  the  escort 
of  a  war  junk,  Mr.  Judd  and  his  companions  left  the 
city  and  returned  to  Wu-ch'ang. 

Just  about  the  time  of  this  first  visit  to  Hu-nan,  an 
important  step  was  taken  at  Mr.  Taylor's  suggestion. 
Up  to  this  time,  all  information  about  the  work  had 
been  published  in  an  "Occasional  Paper,"  which 
came  out  about  quarterly.  Now,  beginning  with 
July,  1875,  the  plain  little  octavo  was  replaced  by  an 
illustrated  monthly,  China  s  Millions,  with  which 
most  of  the  friends  of  the  Mission  are  now  familiar. 

Thus,  In  1875,  were  the  prayers  that  went  up  from 


208  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

that  sick-room  in  December,  1874,  fully  and  gi-a- 
ciously  answered.  Moreover,  sixteen  of  the  eighteen 
missionaries  prayed  for  were  given  before  the  close 
of  1875,  and  five  others  followed  in  the  spring  of 
187G,  making  twenty-one  in  all. 

Thus  ended  the  first  decade  of  tlie  China  Inland 
Mission. 

In  May,  1876,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  sailing 
of  the  "Lammermnir,"  the  first  annual  meeting  was 
held  at  the  Mildmay  Conference  Hall.  A  large 
audience  jcined  in  thanking  God  for  what  had  been 
accomplished,  and  in  prayer  for  greater  things  in 
the  future. 

Only  ten  years  earlier  there  were  but  a  hundred 
missionaries  in  China  altogether;  eleven  provinces 
were  entirely  without  the  Truth,  and  in  Cheh-kiang 
and  Kiang-su,  in  which  the  young  Mission  was  to 
commence  its  work,  there  were  only  two  stations  in 
the  one,  ISTing-po  and  Hang-chau,  and  one,  Shanghai, 
in  the  other.  Now  there  were  settled  stations  in  five 
provinces,  tAvo  cf  which  were  among  the  unoccupied 
eleven;  sixty  missionaries  and  missionaries'  wives 
were  out  in  China  in  the  China  Inland  Mission  alone, 
working  in.  fifty-two  stations  and  out-stations.  And 
already  the  work  had  been  commenced  in  two  of  the 
remoter  provinces,  in  Ho-nan  and  Hu-nan,  the 
hardest  provinces  in  China,  as  well  as  on  the  borders 
of  Yun-nan,  in  the  far  southwest. 

A  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  had  been  contrib- 
uted, mostly  in  small  sums,  and  another  eighteen 


THE    NEXT    SIX    YEARS.  209 

thousand  dollars  was  on  hand,  waiting  to  be  used  in 
new  work  in  the  western  provinces. 

Little  wonder  that  it  was  an  enthusiastic  anniver- 
sary! And  no  wonder,  as  they  sought  to  picture  the 
hundreds  of  millions  of  perishing  souls,  many  of 
them  so  mlling  to  welcome  the  Gospel;  no  wonder 
that  a  feeling  of  deep  solemnity  hushed  the  audience, 
and  that  mighty  and  earnest  prayers  went  up  for  the 
future,  especially  for  the  opening  of  the  West. 

We  shall  see  how  blessedly  those  prayers  pre- 
vailed. 

14 


CHAPTER  X. 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOK. 

i^ow  that  the  petition  for  eighteen  workers  was 
answered,  and  more  than  answered;  now  that  so 
much  prayer  was  going  up  steadily  for  the  opening 
of  western  China,  Mr.  Taylor  felt  convinced  that  the 
time  had  come  for  the  pioneers  to  go  inland.  With 
this  conviction  he  returned  to  China,  to  bid  them 
God-speed  and  encourage  their  hearts  as  they  started. 
His  steamer  calling,  as  usual,  at  Hong-kong,  Mr. 
Taylor  went  ashore,  and  we  can  understand  the  eager- 
ness Avith  which  he  inquired:  ^'What  are  the  prospects 
of  our  workers  going  in  ?" 

^^The  prospects  were  never  darker,"  was  the  reply. 
A  British  official  had  been  murdered,  with  official 
connivance  at  least,  in  the  west  of  China,  near  Bur- 
mah,  and  negotiations  had  dragged  out  their  weary 
length  for  eighteen  months.  And  they  had  failed. 
Sir  Thomas  Wade  had  left  Pekin,  and  war  seemed  in- 
evitable. ''But  prayer,"  wrote  Mr.  Taylor,  ''had  not 
failed." 

God  had  given  tlie  eighteen  missionaries — just  the 
very  men  for  the  work.  I'hey  were  now  all  iu  Cliina, 
had  learned  tlio  language,  and  were  ready  to  go  for- 
ward. What  could  be  the  meaning  of  it  all  ?  Very 
earnestly  Mr.  'J'aylor  waited  on  God,  during  the  three 

210 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     211 

remaining  days  of  the  voyage,  that  He  would  do 
what  seemed  impossible,  and  open  the  gates  of  the 
West.  And  while  His  servant  was  praying,  God  was 
working  out  the  answer. 

On  arrival  in  Shanghai,  what  was  his  joy  to  learn 
that  China's  most  capable  statesman,  Li  Hung-chang, 
had  been  sent  to  negotiate  with  Sir  Thomas  W«de; 
they  had  met  at  Chefoo,  and  had  come  to  terms! 
iSTever  was  a  more  memorable  treaty  concluded  with 
China  than  the  "Chefoo  Convention,"  one  clause  of 
wliich  was  that  foreigners  Avere  to  be  permitted  to 
travel  freely  in  every  part  of  the  empire,  and  that 
]>roclamations  to  that  effect  were  to  be  posted  in 
OA'ery  one  of  the  thousand  and  more  governing  cities. 
Thus,  to  God's  glory,  fast-closed  inland  China  was 
opened  at  last! 

*  *  ^  -:f  *  *  * 

Before  the  treaty  was  signed,  on  September  13th, 
two  of  the  pioneers  were  already  on  the  way  to  the 
far  northwest.  Frederick  Bailer  and  George  King 
started  at  the  close  of  the  long,  hot  summer,  in  the 
month  of  August,  for  the  province  of  Shen-si  (at  the 
capital  of  which,  Si-an,  the  Dowager  Empress  and 
the  unhappy  Emperor  of  China  held  their  court  dur- 
ing the  recent  occupation  of  Pekin  by  foreign  forces). 
A  native  of  Shen-si,  whom  they  met  at  Han-kow  in 
Dr.  Griffith  John's  church,  told  them  there  was  a 
good  water-way  as  far  as  Fan-ch'eng  (440  miles  up 
the  Han  river),  and  from  thence  two  or  three  much- 
traveled  roads  to  Si-an.     So  a  small  house-boat  was 


212  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

hired,  and  the  missionaries  departed,  commended  to 
God  for  the  work. 

A  fortnight's  journey,  sailing  or  tracking,  brought 
them  to  Fan-ch'eng:  and  at  this  busy  port,  and  at  the 
important  city  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  the 
Gospel  was  preached  for  the  first  time.  But  they 
could  only  stay  three  days.  From  here  they  hired 
another  boat  to  Hsing-an  Fu,  the  first  prefecture  in 
Shen-si.  But  this  stage  of  the  journey  proved  trou- 
blesome and  expensive ;  for,  being  autumn,  it  was  the 
time  of  the  yearly  examinations ;  many  students  were 
traveling,  and  the  native  authorities  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  give  them  an  escort,  which  proved  an  ex- 
pensive luxury.  The  city  of  Hsing-an  was  another 
four  hundred  miles  northwest. 

It  was  not  only  a  troublesome  journey,  but  dan- 
gerous, also,  for  the  river  here  flows  swiftly  among 
glorious  mountains,  with  every  here  and  there  a 
rapid,  over  which  boats  have  to  be  laboriously  towed 
by  gangs  of  men.  At  Yun-yang  Fu,  the  last  prefec- 
ture in  Hu-peh  (of  which  province  Wu-ch'ang  is  the 
capital  and  Han-kow  the  commercial  center),  the  mis- 
sionaries were  much  encouraged.  They  not  only  ob- 
tained a  very  favorable  and  friendly  hearing,  but 
were  also  able  to  sell  a  large  number  of  books.  Four 
soldiers  were  sent  by  the  local  mandarin  to  protect 
them,  and  to  explain  to  the  people  that  the  foreigners 
were  there  not  to  cut  off  people's  pigtails,  but  to  sell 
foreign  books!  Three  days  further,  and  they  arrived 
in  Shen-si. 


i 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAB  INTEEIOK.     213 

The  first  Sunday  in  this  province  was  spent  in  a 
quiet  county  town,  where  considerable  audiences 
heard  the  Gospel  message.  A  week  later,  Sunday 
was  spent  at  Ilsing-an  itself,  where  large  gatherings 
heard  the  Glad  Tidings  for  the  first  time  for  many 
centuries.  "As  I  pointed  out  the  superiority,''  wrote 
Mr.  Ealler,  "of  the  living  Christ  over  sages  long  since 
passed  away,  the  thought  seemed  to  strike  them  as 
new  and  strange." 

Encouraging  as  was  their  reception,  they  were 
obliged  to  cut  short  their  visit  to  Shen-si;  for  funds 
were  running  low  on  account  of  the  unforeseen  ex- 
penses of  the  journey.  Gladly  were  they  welcomed 
back  with  the  good  news  they,  brought,  and  very 
thankfully  they  now  heard  of  the  signing  of  the  Che- 
foo  Convention,  which  opened  fully  the  vast  interior 

to  the  Gospel. 

*  ^-  *  *  *  *  * 

First  among  the  pioneers  to  start  after  the  signing 
of  the  treaty  were  the  brethren  James  and  Turner, 
who  were  commended  to  God  at  Chin-kiang,  in 
October,  1876,  to  go  north  on  a  visit  to  Shan-si,  so 
sadly  notable  since  as  the  arena  of  the  sufferings 
and  martyrdoms  of  1900. 

As  far  as  Nankin  the  missionaries  traveled  by  river 
and  then  overland,  across  populous  An-huei,  in  which 
many  traces  of  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebels  were  still  appar- 
ent. Up  to  this  time  the  two  brethren  at  Gan-king 
were  still  the  only  settled  workers  in  this  province. 
After  a  fortnight's  journey,  their  hearts  were  dis- 


214  THESE    FOBTY    YEAKS. 

tressed  in  the  north  of  the  province  at  "the  hundreds 
of  people,  all  miserably  clad  and  looking  starved  and 
wretched,  proceeding  sonth  because  of  the  scarcity 
of  food."  For  the  great  famine  of  1877  to  1879  was 
already  commencing  in  North  China,  though  the 
worst  was  not  yet. 

From  Poli-chau,  an  important  commercial  center 
in  the  north  of  the  province,  they  traveled  on  two 
hundred  miles  by  cart,  and  any  one  who  has  never 
traveled  by  a  Chinese  cart  cannot  imagine  what  this 
means !  Heavy,  springless  vehicles,  with  two  mas- 
sive hob-nailed  wheels,  these  mule  carts  rumble 
laboi'iously  over  unmade  and  unkept  roads.  They 
are  found  in  most  paii^s  of  North  China,  and  will 
cover,  it  is  true,  twenty  or  even  thirty  miles  a  day 
if  the  weather  is  good ;  but  the  uninitiated  suffer ! 
The  passenger,  slung  about,  as  first  one  wheel  and 
then  the  other  drops  into  a  rut,  holds  on  for  dear  life, 
to  avoid  serious  injury.  Indeed,  when  Mrs.  Bird 
Bishop,  tlie  traveler,  took  her  first  journey  in  a 
"Pekin  cart"  she  arrived  at  the  end  of  the  first  day 
with  a  fractured  collar-bone !  James  and  Turner 
were  being  initiated. 

Tliey  now  came  to  the  province  of  Ilo-nan,  and 
crossed  the  Yellow  river,  not  far  from  K'ai-fung,  the 
capital;  but  it  was  a  month's  journey  altogether  be- 
fore they  arrived  in  Shan-si.  They  were  the  first 
missionaries  to  enter  the  pro\dnce ;  and  remained  for 
several  weeks,  itinerating  among  the  cities  of  the 
southern  prefectures.     They  were   greatly   encour- 


MR.    ROBERT    POWELL    TRAVELLIN. 


N    HONAN. 


MULE    CARTS    AND    ESCORT,    IN    TROUBLOUS    TIMES. 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAK  INTERIOR.     215 

aged  by  tlieir  reception,  gained  valuable  information 
about  the  province  and  its  needs,  preached  to  inter- 
ested audiences,  and  had  good  sales  for  their  books. 
Their  last  Sunday  was  spent  at  P'ing-yang  Fu,  equally 
important  as  a  governing  and  commercial  center,  and 
then,  their  funds  running  low,  they  made  their  way 
southward  across  mountainous  western  Ho-nan — a 
cold,  barren  route  to  take  in  winter !  On  Christmas 
day  they  entered  Ilu-peh,  on  their  way  to  Fan-ch'eng. 
From  there  they  took  boat  down  to  Han-kow,  arriv- 
ing early  in  January,  1877.  They  had  traveled 
seventeen  hundred  miles  through  four  provinces  since 

they  started. 

•K-  vr  -x-  •«■  -::-  *  -X- 

The  same  month  that  thetsc  brethren  started  for 
Shan-si,  Messrs.  Easton  and  Parker  set  out  on  the 
long  journey  to  Kan-suh,  in  the  far  northwest.  For 
two-thirds  of  their  journey  tliey  were  accompanied 
by  Messrs.  King  and  Budd,  who  were  to  pay  a  second 
visit  to  Shen-si.  And  before  the  end  of  the  year 
two  other  couples  were  well  on  the  way  to  the  west 
and  southwest — to  the  provinces  of  Si-ch^ian  and 
Kuei-chau. 

The  four  travelers  to  Shen-si  and  Kan-suh  started, 
as  usual,  up  the  Han  river  by  boat,  keeping  to  the 
river  as  far  as  Lao-ho-k'eo,  a  city  some  two  or  three 
days  beyond  Fan-ch'eng.  Here  they  took  to  the 
road,  and  for  another  fortnight  traveled  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  over  rough,  mountainous  roads, 
through    sparsely    peopled    country,    to    Si-an,    the 


210  THESE    EOKXr    YEAKS. 

Slien-si  capital.  Here  they  were  glad  to  rest  for 
awhile,  coinmencing,  however,  their  evangelistic 
work  at  once.  This  city,  one  of  the  best  built  and 
best  preserved  in  China,  is  beautifully  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wei,  one  of  the  major  tributaiies  of  the 
Yellow  river.  It  stands  near  the  center  of  a  populous 
plain,  then  very  fertile  and  flourishing,  but  now 
almost  covered  with  opium  and  sadly  impoverished. 
This  was  to  be  the  sphere  of  King  and  Budd  for  the 
present:  while  Easton  and  Parker  started  westward 
on  their  further  journey  to  Kan-suh. 

"We  have  resolved,"  wrote  Mr.  King  at  this  tune, 
"to  make  our  journey  a  season  of  special  waiting  on 
the  Lord,  for  more  likeness  to  Himself,  more  prac- 
tical holiness,  and  more  brotherly  love."  On  the  last 
Sunday  before  they  separated  they  went  out  into  the 
country,  and  on  a  quiet  mountain-side  overlooking 
the  fertile  plain,  read  together  Spurgeon's  sermon, 
"Predestined  to  be  Conformed  to  the  Image  of  His 
Son."  "Blessed  hope,"  Mr.  Easton  writes.  "I  pray 
that  we  may  indeed  be  conformed  to  Him  in  holiness 
and  zeal.  .  .  .  May  we,  too,  be  about  our  Fa  therms 
business,  and  eventually  see  much  blessing  amongst 
these  cities." 

More  than  twenty  years  have  passed,  and  Mr. 
Easton  still  continues  at  work  in  the  northwest.  Hun- 
dreds of  souls  have  been  gathered  in,  and  many 
churches  have  been  founded  where  then  there  was 
not  a  single  believer  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Snow 
was  on  the  ground  when  Easton  and  Parker  started 


HOW    GOD    OPEiNED    THE   FAR    IXTERIOK.  217 

for  Ivau-suh.  They  had  a  good  time  at  the  first  city 
they  reached,  both  preaching  and  selling  books.  But 
a  Mohammedan  happened  to  buy  a  small  tract  on 
^'The  Prodigal  Son/'  Before  long,  however,  it  was 
returned.  "I  am  a  follower  of  the  Prophet.  I  do  not 
want  a  picture  with  pigs  in  it  V' 

City  after  city  they  passed,  meeting  with  a  very 
friendly  reception.  Over  the  high  Lung  range  of 
mountains  and  across  the  wide  alluvial  plain  they 
journeyed  until  they  came  to  Lan-chau,  the  provin- 
cial capital,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yellow  river.  Here 
they  were  thankful  to  find  comfortable  inns,  and  re- 
ceived numbers  of  visitors,  as  well  as  obtaining  good 
sales  for  their  books.  The  Catholics  were  well  estab- 
lished here,  but  no  Protestant  had  ever  before  vis- 
ited Kan-suh !  From  the  capital  the  travelers  turned 
southward,  visitmg,  among  other  places,  the  impor- 
tant city  of  Ts'in-chau,  in  which  the  principal  church 
in  this  difficult  province  is  to  be  found  to-day.  They 
now  turned  their  faces  eastward,  and,  reentering 
Shen-si,  took  the  road  to  Han-chong,  the  principal 
commercial  center  of  the  province.  In  this  city  and 
district  there  have  since  been,  thank  God,  over  five 
hundred  men  and  women  admitted  to  the  Church. 
From  here  they  rapidly  descended  the  river,  and 
were  soon  back  at  Han-kow  and  Chin-kiang.  Here 
they  met  King  and  Budd,  who,  after  weeks  of  itiner- 
ation in  the  more  important  cities  on  the  Si-an  plain, 
had  arrived  a  few  days  before  them. 


218  THESE   FOKTY    YEABS. 

The  next  missionaries  to  travel  to  tlie  far  interior 
vvere  Xicoll  and  Cameron,  who  went  up  the  river  at 
the  close  of  1876  as  far  as  1-cliang,  on  their  way  to 
the  central  western  province  of  Si-ch'uan. 

During  the  last  days  of  the  old  year  two  other 
pioneers,  Messrs.  Judd  and  Broumton,  went  up  river 
to  Wu-ch'ang,  and  on  January  2nd,  1877,  they  set  out 
for  needy  Kuei-chau  in  the  southwest,  a  province 
with  abundant  mineral  wealth  and  also,  sad  to  say, 
with  large  crops  of  opium,  through  which  its  inhab- 
itants were  even  then  being  rapidly  demoralized.  It 
was  cold  work  traveling  up  river  that  January  in 
draughty  house-boats,  but  this  is  among  the  least  of 
the  troubles  of  a  pioneer  missionary  in  China,  and 
was  easy  to  put  up  with!  A  week  on  the  Yang-tse 
brought  them  to  Yoh-chau,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
largest  lake  in  China,  the  T'ong-t'ing;  this  they  then 
crossed,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Yuen  river,  up  which  they  continued  their  jour- 
ney steadily  onward  across  northern  Hu-nan  for 
three  long,  icy  weeks. 

IN'otorious  as  the  Hu-nanese  are  for  their  hostility 
to  foreigners,  these  early  travelers  in  native  dress 
met  with  quite  a  friendly  reception,  being  cared  for 
by  the  officials  and  receiving  an  attentive  hearing 
from  the  people. 

Much  of  the  kindness  shown  to  these  missionary 
pioneers  was  doubtless  due  to  the  Chefoo  Convention. 
Again  and  again  when  the  missionaries  arrived  in 
f;ome  remote  city,  they  v/ere  welcomed  by  the  officials 


HOW  GOD    OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     219 

and  not  infrequently  detained  to  lunch,  while  the 
Yamen  employes  were  busy  all  over  the  city  posting 
up  the  belated  proclamations,  lest  the  foreigners 
should  report  to  the  proper  authorities  their  neglect 
to  publish  them !  'Not  so,  however,  in  Hu-nan.  "The 
people  are  so  anti-foreign  here,"  the  officials  ex- 
plained, "it  would  not  be  wise  or  safe  to  put  up  these 
proclamations,"  and  nowhere  in  Hu-nan  were  they  to 
be  found. 

A  beautiful  river  it  was  up  which  they  traveled, 
and  the  boatmen  were  deeply  interested  in  the  stoiy 
of  the  Crucifixion.  One  old  lady  they  met  received 
very  gladly  the  strange  new  Gospel  message.  "It  is 
really  very  kind  of  you  to  come  so  far,"  she  ex- 
claimed, "to  tell  these  good  things.  Our  people  do 
not  know.  They  go  continually  to  the  temples,  bum 
incense  and  give  rice  and  presents  to  the  gods,  and 
in  the  end  what  becomes  of  it  all?" 

They  were  a  superstitious  people  also,  which  often 
indicates  a  natural  craving,  unsatisfied  and  hence  dis- 
torted, for  religious  light.  Strong,  resolute,  deter- 
mined, it  may  be  that  the  Hu-nanese  will  yet  make 
some  of  the  noblest  Christians  in  China. 

Early  in  February,  Judd  and  Broumton  reached 
the  borders  of  Kuei-chau.  Here  at  the  head  of  navi- 
gation they  left  the  river,  hired  sedan  chairs,  and 
commenced  a  twelve  days'  journey  over  lonely  moun- 
tain roads  to  the  capital.  As  is  usual  in  China,  the 
mountainous  regions  were  sparsely  populated,  and 
frequently  they  put  up  at  night  at  a  lonely  cottage 


220  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

by  the  wayside.  At  one  of  these  their  host,  a  hardy 
mountaineer,  showed  deep  interest  in  the  message  he 
heard  from  their  lips.  "He  became  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  Gospel,''  wrote  Mr.  Judd.  "I  trust  we 
may  meet  him  in  glory." 

After  a  week  of  this  overland  travel  the  mission- 
aries arrived  at  Chen-yuen,  a  notoriously  anti-for- 
eign city.  Three  years  before,  at  this  city,  Mr.  Mar- 
gary  (the  British  official  who  was  murdered  near  the 
Burman  border)  met  with  serious  difficulty.  His 
boat  was  dragged  ashore  and  burned  by  the  people! 

It  may  be  interesting  to  mention  in  this  connection 
that  Mr.  Margary's  bereaved  mother  and  other  rela- 
tives prayed  that  his  death  might  result  in  the  open- 
ing up  of  western  China  to  the  Gospel.  And  so  it 
did.  For  it  was  the  negotiations  at  Pekin  about  this 
murder  that  ended  in  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of 
Chef  00 ! 

Judd  and  Broumton  waited  on  God  very  earnestly 
as  they  drew  near  to  this  place.  Their  passports  were 
examined  on  their  arrival;  but,  while  the  people 
seemed  sui*prised  to  see  the  foreigners,  there  were  no 
signs  whatever  of  unfriendly  feeling.  Much  of  the 
route  they  had  to  travel  had  been  desolated  by  a 
recent  rebellion  of  the  Miao-tse,  a  tribe  of  aborigines, 
who  have  no  idols  and  who  have  since  shown  a  re- 
markable readiness  to  receive  the  Gospel.  Fine, 
sturdy,  independent  hill  tribesmen  they  are ! 

About  the  middle  of  February  they  climbed  the 
last  steep  pass,  and  a  magnificent  view  reward '^d 


now  COD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     221 

them.  The  sun  was  shining  on  the  fair  plain,  wliich 
stretched  out  before  them — away  to  the  distant  moun- 
tains; and  the  city  of  Kuei-yang  itself  was  right  be- 
fore them,  with  its  temples,  its  towers  and  its  luxuri- 
ant trees.  In  this  city  they  met  a  remarkable  man, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  men  in  China,  "General" 
Mesney.  An  enterprising  traveler,  he  had  given  val- 
uable help  to  the  government  of  the  province  in  sup- 
pressing the  recent  rebellion  (just  referred  to),  and 
was  rewarded  for  his  services  by  being  raised  to  offi- 
cial rank  and  receiving  considerable  gifts  of  property. 
He  was  quite  delighted  to  see  the  foreigners,  and  very 
cordially  welcomed  them  to  his  home.  For  ten  days 
they  were  his  guests,  meeting  with  considerable  num- 
bers of  the  local  mandarins,  who  were  thus  brought 
within  sound  of  the  Gospel.  But  for  Mr.  Mesney's 
help,  the  missionaries  might  have  been  unable  to  ob- 
tain a  house,  for  trade  was  good  and  premises  were 
scarce.  Happily,  he  himself  had  a  house,  which  he 
kindly  placed  at  their  disposal.  Here  Mr.  Broumton 
remained,  the  solitary  Christian  worker  among  four 
or  five  millions  of  people  in  that  province,  while  Mr. 
Judd,  after  a  short  rest,  or  rather  change  of  labor, 
returned  to  his  own  station,  Wu-ch'ang.  Prevented 
from  returning  by  Hu-nan,  he  turned  his  steps  north- 
ward to  Ckung-king,  the  commercial  metropolis  of 
Si-ch'uan.  Here  again,  as  at  Kuei-chau,  the  Koman 
Catholics  were  established  in  force :  but  no  Protestant 
missionaries  had  ever  resided  in  either  province! 
From  here,  going  down  river  toward  I-chang,  the 


222  THESE   EOBTY   YEARS. 

missionary  was  in  double  danger  from  the  rapids  and 
from  pirates,  by  whom  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  for 
some  hours  was  in  jeopardy  of  his  life;  but  in  answer 
to  prayer  he  was  set  free. 

At  I-chang  Mr.  Judd  hoped  to  find  Messrs.  Cam- 
eron and  Is'icoll;  but  alas!  their  house  was  in  ruins 
and  the  w^orkers  had  gone.  Like  many  of  the  river 
ports,  it  is  a  turbulent  place:  and  a  serious  riot  had 
arisen  on  the  arriA^al  of  a  small  consular  staff  to  open 
the  new  treaty  port. 

A  few  more  days  down  river  and  Mr.  Judd  reached 
home  about  the  end  of  March.  Mr.  Broumton  re- 
mained on  at  Kuei-yang  alone  until  mid-summer, 
w-hen  reinforcements  joined  him.  Messrs.  George 
Clarke,  Edward  Fishe  and  Landale  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  go  west.  Landale  remained  with  Broum- 
ton, while  Clarke  and  Fishe  went  southward  into  un- 
evangelized  Kuang-si.  Here  they  learned  that  there 
was  a  population  of  five  millions,  but  that  Roman 
Catholic  attempts  to  obtain  a  settlement  had  always 
proved  unsuccessful.  To  try  and  sell  books  in  that 
province  w^as  hopeless,  they  w^ere  told,  or  to  seek  to 
influence  the  people  in  any  way  for  good. 

"ISTotwithstanding,''  wrote  Mr.  Clarke,  "we  started, 
trusting  in  God.'' 

It  took  twelve  days'  hard  traveling  over  the  Xan- 
ling  mountains  to  bnng  them  to  the  border  of 
Kuang-si,  which  they  reached  in  the  middle  of  July. 
At  the  first  city,  Kin-yuen,  mindful  of  what  they  had 
been  told,  they  decided  to  be  cautious.     After  speak- 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     223 

ing  boldly  in  a  cheery  voice  to  tlie  people  for  a  few 
moments,  thej  offered  their  books  for  sale,  wonder- 
ing what  success  they  would  have.  Eagerly  they  were 
bought  up,  much  to  their  surprise.  For  more  than 
six  weeks  the  missionaries  traveled  extensively,  visit- 
ing many  important  cities  in  this  province  where, 
they  had  been  told,  the  people  were  unfriendly  and 
would  not  buy  books!  "The  people  would  have 
books,"  George  Clarke  wrote,  "and  this  eagerness  to 
buy  was  general." 

On  their  return  the  travelers  were  gladly  wel- 
comed home  by  Broumton  and  Landale  at-Kuei-yang, 
and  as  there  were  only  two  bedrooms,  Landale  and 
Broumton  decided  to  go  away  for  a  short  missionary 
tour  while  their  colleagues  rested. 

They  had  not  been  long  gone,  however,  before  a 
messenger  called  them  back.  They  returned  imme- 
diately to  find  George  Clarke  in  high  fever  in  one 
room,  and  his  companion,  Edward  Fishe,  unconscious 
and  dying  in  the  other.  All  night  long  they  watched 
beside  him,  but  early  next  morning,  the  6th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1877,  he  fell  asleep;  and,  all  unknowing,  at 
Wu-ch'ang  a  widow  with  two  children  was  praying 

for  the  father  who  had  been  called  away  to  rest. 
*  *  *  -JS-  *  *  * 

Another  of  the  western  pioneers  was  John  McCar- 
thy, of  ITang-chau,  and  latterly  of  Gan-king.  He  had 
cherished  a  desire  to  cross  China  into  Burmah  for 
many  years,  to  test  the  feasibility  of  traveling  and 
working  in  the  far  interior;  but  the  idea  was  "foolish 


224  THESE    FO-RTY   YEARS. 

and  impossible,"  he  was  told:  and  he  had  worked  on 
in  the  east.  He  had  been  home  to  England  in  1875 
for  the  shortest  possible  furlough,  only  a  few  weeks, 
and  had  returned  with  two  of  the  pioneer  volunteers, 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  the  eighteen,  in  the  fall. 
The  proposal  was,  as  soon  as  the  brethren  could  speak 
Chinese,  for  him  to  escort  them  inland;  but  in  the 
absence  of  Mr.  Taylor  heavy,  responsible  duties  fell 
upon  the  experienced  missionary,  and  when  the  time 
came  the  pioneers  went  inland  without  his  help. 

Immediately  on  the  signing  of  the  Chefoo  Conven- 
tion, as  we  have  seen,  two  had  gone  to  Shan-si,  two  to 
Shen-si  and  two  to  Kan-suh,  while  Taylor  and  Clarke 
were  already  in  Ho-nan.  Shortly  after,  two  went 
west  toward  Si-ch'uan  and  two  southwest  to  Kuei- 
chau;  followed  in  the  early  spring  by  two  more  for 
Kuang-si.  Besides  these,  on  the  Burman  frontier 
Stevenson  and  Soltau  were  already  working  amongst 
the  Yun-nanese,  and  had  already  been  reinforced  by 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Harvey  and  Mr.  Adams. 

On  Mr.  Taylor's  return,  however,  Mr.  McCarthy 
was  set  free,  and  undertook  the  journey  that  had  been 
so  long  upon  his  heart.  Speaking  with  an  earnest 
native  Christian  about  the  matter,  Mr.  McCarthy 
was  delighted  to  hear  him  volunteer  to  accompany 
him,  but  first  forewarned  him  of  the  dangers  of  the 
journey.  "If  you,  a  foreigner,  can  risk  it  for  Jesus' 
sake  and  for  my  people,  surely  I,  a  native  of  the 
country,  may  well  risk  it,  too!'^ 

Often  on  that  long  journey  Mr.  McCarthy  was 


now  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     225 

thankful  for  his  friend  and  fellow-worker's  aid.  It 
was  abont  the  end  of  January,  1877,  when  they 
strated  up  river  for  Han-kow  and  I-chang.  Thence 
up  the  magnificent  gorges  of  the  Yang-tse,  several 
weeks'  journey  by  native  boat,  they  continued  west- 
ward to  the  borders  of  Si-ch'uan.  The  first  large  city 
they  came  to  in  this  populous  and  fertile  province — 
the  largest  in  China — they  left  the  river  and  con- 
tinued overland  twenty-five  days'  journey  on  foot  to 
Chung-king,  the  commercial  capital.  Trade  they 
found  to  be  bnsk,  the  country  densely  populated  and 
the  people  very  friendly.  At  one  place  in  this  stage 
of  the  journey,  the  city  of  Kuang-an,  they  made  a 
considerable  stoppage.  They  found  there  a  man 
whom  they  had  previously  met  at  Gan-king,  and  he 
proved  not  only  very  friendly,  but  very  hospitable. 
One  after  another  of  his  large  clan  entertained  them, 
and  the  travelers  greatly  enjoyed  the  rest  and  the 
quiet  after  their  continued  travel. 

"Does  it  ever  rain  in  your  honorable  country?" 
they  would  gravely  inquire;  "and  does  rain  come 
down  as  it  does  in  China?" 

"Have  you  any  mountains  and  valleys,  so  far 
away?" 

"Does  the  sun  shine  on  you  as  on  us  ?  And  is  it  the 
same  sun?" 

Kind  and  patient  answers  to  these  trivial  questions 
removed  misapprehension  and  gained  confidence,  win- 
ning an  entrance  for  the  Master's  message  to  dark- 
ened minds  and  hearts. 

15 


226  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

"In  that  one  district  of  Si-ch'uan/^  wrote  Mr.  Mc- 
Carthy, ''in  a  circle  with  a  diameter  of  only  forty 
miles,  I  might  easily  have  spent  four  to  six  months, 
had  time  allowed,  simply  in  going  about  from  one 
place  to  another,  as  I  received  invitations.  Many 
were  the  pressing  calls  I  was  obliged  to  refuse,  and 
in  none  of  the  houses  to  which  I  went  would  the 
people  take  anything  from  me.  They  did  not  want 
my  money.  They  received  me  freely  as  a  friend, 
and  in  every  case  were  glad  to  have  the  books  and 
tracts  left  with  them,  and  to  hear  the  Gospel  from 
my  lips.'" 

At  Chung-king,  Mr.  McCarthy  made  another, 
though  shorter,  stay,  and  impressed  by  its  size  and 
importance,  rented  a  house,  which  was  occupied  later 
by  Cameron  and  IN^icoll,  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
were  designated  for  Si-ch'uan.  From  here  they  turned 
southward  to  Kuei-yang,  still  walking.  Profiting  by 
previous  experience,  Mr.  McCarthy  made  it  a  rule 
to  stop  at  the  first  available  inn  wherever  he  arrived. 
By  so  doing,  he  was  often  able  to  get  a  wash  and  his 
supper  before  he  was  surrounded  by  friendly  visitors, 
and  thus  avoided  a  good  deal  of  crowding,  which 
might  have  inconvenienced  and,  possibly,  endangered 
him,  and  was  fresh  and  ready  to  entertain  them  when 
callers  came. 

In  five  days  they  entered  the  Kuei-chau  province, 
and  as  they  traveled  across  it  they  were  much  im- 
pressed and  saddened  by  the  prevalence  of  opium 
smoking.     Ten  or  twelve  days  after  crossing  the 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAB  INTERIOR.     227 

border  tliej  reached  Kuei-yang,  where  they  were 
heartily  welcomed  by  Broumton  and  Landale.  After 
a  short  and  very  refreshing  rest,  they  started  on  their 
journey  again  toward  Yim-nan  Fu,  the  capital  of  the 
pro^dnce  of  the  same  name.  Eisky  as  it  was  to  at- 
tempt to  cross  Yun-nan,  had  not  Mr.  McCarthy  been 
praying  for  the  province  for  many  years,  and  were 
not  the  people  just  as  needy  there  as  in  every  other 
part  of  China?  Prayerful,  but  determined,  McCarthy 
journeyed  onward.  It  was  July  when  he  entered 
Yun-nan,  in  which  no  Protestant  missionary  had  ever 
set  foot  before.  As  he  was  entering  the  capital,  he 
was  stopped  and  his  business  demanded.  Friendly 
explanations  and  the  gift  of  a  few  tracts  by  the  Chi- 
nese fellow-worker,  Yang  Ts'uen-ling  (whose  story, 
by  the  way,  is  well  worth  reading),  smoothed  matters 
over,  and  they  entered  the  city  in  peace.  For  a  few 
days  they  remained,  working  quietly;  but  for  pru- 
dence' sake,  not  much  in  public,  and  then  continued 
westward  toward  the  second  city  of  the  province, 
Ta-li.  The  road  lay  over  magnificent  mountains  and 
along  beautiful  valleys,  and  the  travelers'  hearts 
were  refreshed.  Wonderfully  the  Lord  had  pros- 
pered them;  might  they  not  safely  commend  them- 
selves to  His  good  keeping  for  the  perilous  remainder 
of  the  way? 

Speaking  of  the  various  travelers  they  met,  offi- 
cials, merchants,  rich  and  poor:  "We  associated,'' 
Mr.  McCarthy  writes,  "with  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men,  and  with  but  two  exceptions  never  received 


228  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

a  cross  word  from  any  one  tlie  whole  journey  tliroiigli. 
The  Chefoo  Convention  has  already  effected  great 
good  in  Yun-nan."  It  was  recognized  everj^vhere 
that  foreigners  had  a  right  to  travel.  The  only 
wonder  seemed  to  be  that  a  foreign  consul  had  not 
yet  been  sent  to  Ta-li  Fu  "to  oj^en  a  foreign  store." 

The  country  was  poor,  the  men  degraded,  and  the 
women  many  of  them  engaged  in  arduous  manual 
labor,  considered  in  other  parts  of  the  country  as 
only  suitable  for  men.  Goitre,  moreover,  was  found 
to  be  very  prevalent  in  the  valleys  and  among  the 
mountains;  ague  w^as  common,  and  the  people  were 
grateful  for  such  medicines  as  Mr.  McCarthy  was 
able  to  give  away. 

From  Ta-li  Fu,  still  westward,  they  traveled  on, 
crossing  higher  mountains  and  finding  the  roads  in- 
creasingly rough.  Ten  days  further  on  they  came 
to  Momein,  where  they  rested  for  several  days, 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  making  friends.  They 
learned  that  the  Bhamo  medical  mission  was  known 
and  valued  in  those  parts.  Three  days  from  Momein 
Mr.  McCarthy  reached  the  city  where  Margary  had 
been  murdered  two  years  before.  The  local  man- 
darin was  cordial,  spoke  of  the  medical  work  at 
Bhamo,  promised  protection  while  they  remained  in 
the  city,  and  warned  them  not  to  attempt  to  cross 
the  borderland  without  engaging  the  services  of  a 
mountain  chief. 

"Traveling  simply  as  you  are,  you  need  apprehend 
no  difficulty,  except  from  the  wihl  tribes  on  the  Kah- 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     229 

clien  hills/'  Mr.  McCarthy  was  frequently  told.  They 
engaged  a  mountain  chief  accordingly,  and  eveiy- 
where  met  with  not  only  cordiality,  but  even  gen- 
erous hospitality.  For  several  days  they  traveled 
amongst  these  mountain  tribes,  and  Mr.  McCarthy's 
heart  was  much  drawn  to  them.  He  proposed  to  stay 
longer  with  them  on  his  retuiTi. 

It  was  the  end  of  August  when  at  last  he  descended 
to  Bhamo,  and  right  heartily  were  he  and  his  com- 
panion welcomed  by  Messrs.  Soltau  and  Adams. 
They  found  it  hard  to  believe  that  Mr.  McCarthy  had 
indeed  walked  across  China.  With  great  joy  they 
united  in  giving  thanks  to  God  for  His  remarkable 
journeying  mercies.  But  the  British  resident  at 
Bhamo  absolutely  forbade  Mr.  McCarthy  from  at- 
tempting to  return. 

"I  believed  it  was  God  who  had  brought  me  safely 
through  China,  and  if  God  had  wanted  me  to  return 
that  way,  neither  the  Viceroy  of  India  nor  any  other 
power  could  have  prevented  it.  I  took  the  message 
as  from  Him,  and  so  could  not  trouble  about  it.'' 

Mr.  McCarthy  spent  six  months  at  Bhamo,  and 

then  returned  to  England  with  a  blessed  story  to  tell 

of  the  goodness  of  God  vouchsafed  to  him ;   and,  far 

more  important,  that — AVostern  China  was  open.     A 

great  impression  Avas  made  at  home  by  the  story  of 

what  Mr.  McCarthy  had  done  and  heard  and  seen. 
*  *  ^  *  *  *  -H- 

The  Shan-si  pioneers  had  to  return,  as  we  have 
seen,  for  supplies.    A  brief  rest  at  Wu-ch'ang,  a  fare- 


280  THESE    FORTY    YEAllS. 

-^ell  prayer  meeting  with  Mr.  McCarthy  ere  he 
started  on  his  long  journey  across  China,  and  away 
they  started  again — this  time  for  a  longer  visit. 

Up  the  Han  they  sailed  to  Fan-ch'eng — suffering 
shipwreck,  and  in  danger  from  pirates,  by  the  way; 
thence  they  continued  by  cart,  over  the  rough  and 
often  dangerous  mountain  roads  of  West  Ho-nan,  for 
several  weeks.  And  so  they  reached  Shan-si.  The 
early  wheat  here  was  the  first  sign  of  spring  that 
met  their  eyes,  and  the  fruit  trees  were  already  in 
blossom.  Their  second  visit  to  Shan-si  began  Avith 
a]l  the  fresh  beauty  of  the  new  year.  This  was  in 
the  lowlands,  in  the  valley  of  the  Yellow  river,  but 
it  was  soon  passed,  and  they  ascended  into  bare  and 
desolate  regions  where  the  famine  was  already  felt. 

"At  most  places  where  we  stopped  for  refresh- 
ment we  had  a  large  crowd  around  us,  watching  each 
mouthful,  and  holding  out  their  empty  basins  in  mute 
appeal." 

For  three  hundred  miles  they  traveled  through 
many  important  cities  to  the  capital,  T'ai-yuan.  Here 
they  engaged  a  teacher,  that  they  might  more  quickly 
acquire  the  local  dialect;  and  most  of  the  next  two 
months  were  given  to  evangelistic  work  in  the  city 
nnd  surrounding  country.  Pitiful  were  the  experi- 
ences of  those  long,  dry  months!  "Night  and  day," 
wrote  Mr.  Turner,  "incessant  prayer  was  made  for 
rain — the  people  crying  aloud  to  their  gods,  for  that 
which  alone  could  save  from  death." 

So  it  continued  through  the  summer,  and  when 


HOW    GOD    OPENED   THE   FAR   INTERIOR.  231 

autumn  came,  with  no  break  in  the  drought,  whole 
families  committed  suicide,  rather  than  face  the 
hardships  of  the  coming  winter.  The  terrible  heat 
of  that  long  summer,  unmitigated  by  the  usual  sum- 
mer rains,  and  the  still  more  terrible  consciousness  of 
the  suffering  all  around  them,  began  to  tell  on  the 
health  of  the  workers,  and  both  were  stricken  down 
with  famine  fever  in  the  fall.  James  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life,  and  it  was  evident  that  he  v'ould 
have  to  come  to  the  coast,  and  Turner  must  go  with 
him  to  nurse  him  by  the  way. 

Very  loth,  indeed,  they  were  to  leave  the  province 
at  this  time,  where  they  were  the  only  Protestant 
workers,  and  where  death  was  working  such  havoc 
amongst  the  starving  population.  Two  months' 
journey  southwards,  by  cart,  to  Fan-ch'eng  was  a 
serious  matter  in  early  winter,  for  the  sick  man  and 
his  friend;  but  they  suffered  most  of  all  from  the  con- 
dition of  the  people  among  whom  they  passed. 

"The  scenes  witnessed  upon  this  journey,"  wrote 
Mr.  Turner  from  Han-kow,  "have  left  an  indelible 
impression  of  horror  upon  my  mind.  It  is  difficult  to 
conceive  a  country  in  a  worse  condition.  Many  of 
the  trees  are  destitute  of  bark,  long  since  stripped  off 
and  eaten.     The  poor  are  literally  starving.  In 

the  early  morning,  as  we  passed,  we  saw  the  victims 
of  the  preceding  night  lying  dead  and  stiff  where 
they  fell.  On  the  open  road  men  were  writhing  in 
the  agonies  of  death;  no  one  pitied  them;  no  one 
cared — for  the  sight  of  death  had  long  since  become 


232  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

common.  Hundreds  of  corpses  were  lying  on  the 
roads;  we  saw  them  ..." 

About  this  time,  the  English  consul  at  T'ien-tsin 
wrote,  "The  aspect  of  affairs  was  simply  terrible. 
I'he  autumn  crop  over  the  whole  of  Shan-si  and  the 
greater  portion  of  Chili-li  and  Shen-si  had  failed;  no 
rain  had  fallen,  and  the  heavens  Avere  pitilessly  blue." 
The  English  Famine  Kelief  Funds  sent  to  China  over 
$150,000,  and  the  Missionary  Societies  $55,000,  of 
which  the  larger  half  was  given  through  the  China 
Inland  Mission. 

As  soon  as  it  was  possible.  Turner  retm-ned  to 
Shan-si,  entering  this  time  from  T'ien-tsin,  the  port 
of  Pekin,  with  the  Rev.  Da^dd  Hill,  the  beloved 
leader  of  the  English  Wesleyan  JMission.  They  and 
an  American  missionary,  the  Eev.  A.  Whiting,  went 
inland  in  the  spring  of  1878,  and  were  warmly  wel- 
comed by  the  officials  of  Shan-si,  who  were  already 
doing  all  they  could  to  alleviate  the  suffering,  and 
gladly  helped  the  missionaries  in  their  arduous  serv- 
ice. 

Many  at  home  had  given  largely  to  this  noble  re- 
lief work,  on  hearing  of  the  terrible  sufferings  of  the 
famine-stricken  people;  but  Mr.  Whiting  gave  his 
life,  for  within  three  weeks  he  caught  the  famine 
fever,  and  before  the  end  of  April  had  gone  to  his 
reward. 

The  work  of  distribution  was  commenced  at  the 
capital,  T'ai-yuan,  and  from  there  Messrs.  David  Hill 
and  Turner  gradually  worked  their  way  southward 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  EAR  INTERIOR.     233 

as  far  as  P'ing-yang  Eii,  where  they  were  cordially 
welcomed  by  the  prefect  and  his  subordinate  man- 
darins, who  rendered  them  every  help  in  their  power. 
Here  tliey  soon  came  across  traces  of  the  work  that 
had  been  done  in  the  previous  visits  to  the  province. 

About  midsummer  Turner  again  went  north  and 
joined  Mr.  Timothy  Eichard,  of  the  English  Baptist 
Mission,  who  for  eight  months  had  been  steadily 
working  away  at  famine  relief  in  and  around  T'ai- 
yuan,  winning  golden  opinions  from  rich  and  poor, 
perhaps  especially  the  former.  He  seems  to  have  a 
special  faculty  for  making  friends  with  mandarins. 

In  the  early  fall  Timothy  Eichard  returned  to  his 
own  work  in  the  province  of  Shan-tung,  leaving  Tur- 
ner single-handed  at  T'ai-yuan.  Hard  work  it  was, 
even  harder  on  the  spirits  than  on  the  physical  frame, 
for  the  sufferings  of  the  famine-stricken  people  can 
scarcely  be  imagined,  much  less  described. 

The  first  really  cool  weather  after  the  long,  hot 
summer,  brought  its  own  dangers  with  it,  as,  indeed, 
it  usually  does  in  China.  Turner  caught  a  chill  and 
soon  developed  dysentery.  In  spite  of  this,  urged  by 
the  terrible  suffering  around,  he  continued  his  work 
as  long  as  possible;  but  there  was  a  limit.  At  last 
he  had  to  send  a  brief  note  to  David  Hill,  down  south 
at  P'ing-yang  Fu,  telling  him  of  his  condition;  and 
he  could  do  no  more,  expecting  soon  to  see  his  Mas- 
ter's face. 

David  Hill,  on  receiving  the  message,  came  with 
all  speed,  had  a  good  journey  and  arrived  wdthin  a 


234  THESE   FOBTY   YEAES. 

fortnight.  The  veiy  sight  of  hiiii  did  Turner  good. 
And  his  loving  ministrations  soon  resulted  in  a  cure. 
Soon  after  they  rejoiced  to  welcome  Mrs.  Hudson 
Taylor  and  two  other  lady  missionaries,  who  had  trav- 
eled to  Shan-si  under  the  experienced  escort  of  Mr. 
Bailer. 

"The  Chinese  officials/'  wrote  the  British  consul, 
"now  treat  the  missionaries  with  the  most  marked 
cordiality,  and  assist  them  in  every  way  in  their 
power.  As  for  the  people,  they  have  at  last  opened 
their  houses.  .  .  .  The  advent  of  the  foreigner  is 
now  hailed  Avith  delight.  .  .  .  This  distribution 
of  funds  by  the  brave  and  judicious  men  engaged 
in  the  work  will  do  more  to  open  China  than  a  dozen 
wars.'' 

Were  it  not  for  the  opium  traffic,  forced  upon 
China  in  spite  of  every  protest,  that  country  would 
long  ago  have  flung  its  doors  wide  open,  not  only  to 
the  missionary  who  first  wins  their  esteem,  but  also 
to  his  compatriots,  bringing  the  material  benefits  of 
Western  civilization.  Generous  as  were  the  gifts 
that  came  to  China  during  these  terrible  years  of 
famine,  twice  every  w^eek  (on  an  average)  was  Eng- 
land repaid,  through  the  opium  revenue,  for  the  en- 
tire sum  of  this  famine  relief! 

Very  gratefully,  however  —  forgetting  all  the 
wrongs  of  the  past  and  the  present  —  did  the  high 
officials  acknowledge  this  timely  help  and  the  gen- 
erous, self-denying  way  in  which  it  was  administered. 

Probably  in  no  part  of  the  empire  is  the  deplorable 


now    GOD    OPEJNED    THK    FAR    lATERlOll.  235 

effect  of  the  opium  trade  more  terribly  manifest  than 
in  this  very  province  of  Shan-si.  Humanly  speaking, 
no  victim  of  intemperance  is  more  hopeless  than  the 
confirmed  opium-smoker.  And  yet,  in  recent  years, 
in  this  province  alone,  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of 
opium-smokers  have  been  saved,  doubly  rescued,  from 
the  dominance  of  the  opium  habit  and  from  the  power 
of  the  Enemy,  by  the  higher  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.    But  I  anticipate. 


Of  all  the  pioneer  journeys  that  followed  the  Che- 
foo  Convention,  none  was  more  remarkable  than  that 
made  into  eastern  Thibet,  nor  among  the  eighteen 
brethren  who  were  prayed  for  in  1875,  and  went  far 
afield  in  1876  and  1877,  was  there  a  more  remarkable 
man  than  James  Cameron.     Tall,  powerful  Scot,  he 
was  a  man  of  character,  of  determination  and  of  faith. 
Starting  west  with  George  Mcoll  in  the  fall  of  1876, 
both  of  them  designated  for  the  province  of  Si-ch'uan, 
they  were  detained  for  a  time  at  I-chang,  where  they 
opened  a  station.     From  this  point,  already  a  thou- 
sand miles  up  the  Yang-tse,  after  a  serious   riot, 
already   mentioned,   they   continued   their   joumey 
westward   to    Chung-king,    Si-ch'uan.       Here   they 
rented  premises,  the  first  Protestant  station  in  that 
large  and  populous  province. 

But  Cameron  was  a  born  pioneer.  Even  during 
the  comparatively  brief  stay  at  I-chang  he  had  sown 
the  Good  Seed  in  the  principal  centers  between  that 


236  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

city  and  the  borders  of  Hu-nan.  And  after  a  short 
stay  at  Chung-king,  the  two  brethren,  accompanied 
now  by  Mr.  Leaman,  of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Board,  started  westward  again  for  the  capital  of  the 
province,  Ch'eng-tu,  a  twenty  days'  journey  across 
rich,  fertile  country,  during  which  they  enjoyed 
many  opportunities  of  preaching  tlie  Gospel.  At 
Ch'eng-tu  they  stayed  nine  days,  gaining  attentive 
hearings  and  selling  large  numbers  of  Scriptures  and 
tracts. 

It  was  mid-autumn  when  they  continued  their 
journey.  First  west  to  the  limit  of  the  beautiful, 
well-watered  plain,  and  then  due  south,  a  fort- 
night's journey  in  all,  to  Ya-chau,  the  commercial 
entrance  to  Chinese  Thibet.  Through  this  city  im- 
mense quantities  of  brick  tea  are  yearly  imported 
into  the  land  of  eternal  snows,  Thibet. 

From  this  point  onward  their  journey  became  more 
difficult.  The  roads  were  steadily  rising  to  higher 
altitudes,  and  the  country  became  more  and  more 
barren  and  inhospitable  every  stage  they  went.  After 
another  week  of  this  arduous  traveling,  Mr.  Nicoll 
could  go  no  farther.  Kepeated  attacks  of  ague  had 
quite  prostrated  liim,  and  it  Avould  have  been  folly 
to  proceed.  Mr.  Leaman  volunteered  to  accompany 
him  back  to  Chung-king,  and  early  in  October  Cam- 
eron only  remained  to  continue  the  journey.  "I  miss 
my  companions  much,"  he  wrote,  "but  shall  soon  get 
accustomed  to  being  alone."  Happy  for  him  that  he 
liad  proved  the  trutli  of  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway!" 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  TXTEKIOK.     237 

He  traveled  light!!  His  money  lie  carried  in  little 
irregular  lumps  of  silver,  se^vn  into  an  inner  garment, 
and  his  baggage  consisted  of  little  more  than  the  in- 
dispensable bedding  and  a  change  or  two  of  clothes. 

A  week  later  he  reached  the  interesting  little  town 
of  Ta-tsien-lu.  This  place  attracted  Mr.  Cameron's 
attention  as  being  the  first  foreign-looking  place  he 
had  come  to.  It  has  its  own  lamasery,  from  which 
the  Thibetans,  who  form  quite  half  the  population, 
are  governed.  For  these  places  are  not  only  monas- 
teries— containing  hundreds  and  sometimes  thou- 
sands of  lamas — and  temples,  but  also  the  residence 
of  the  ruling  lama,  the  head  official  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

Ahead,  then,  was  Thibet.  It  was  unlikely  that  he 
would  have  access  to  Thibet  proper.  But  Chinese 
Thibet,  included  nominally  in  the  Si-ch'uan  province, 
was  open  to  him.  Governed  by  lamas  instead  of  man- 
darins, and  only  partially  subject  to  the  court  of 
Pekin,  its  people,  pure  Thibetans,  are  yet  much  more 
ready  for  dealings  with  the  outside  world  than  the 
population,  of  Inner  Thibet,  perhaps  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  migratory  population  along  the  banks 
of  the  great  rivers,  which  here  intersect  the  country, 
one  of  them  being  the  main  stream  of  the  Yang- 
tse. 

From  Ta-tsien-lu  onward  the  road  ran  mostly  at  a 
great  altitude,  seldom  descending  lower  than  twelve 
thousand  feet.  It  was  lonely  and  little  traveled, 
moreover,  and  any  kind  of  accommodation — any  kind 


238  THESE    FORTY   YEARS. 

would  do  for  Cameron — was  hard  to  obtain.  The  first 
night  after  leaving  the  little  border  town,*  Cameron 
saw  what  he  must  expect  for  the  remainder  of  his 
journey  through  this  upland  country.  It  was  a  mis- 
erable little  inn  he  had  come  to,  the  best  there  was; 
no  bed  was  to  be  had,  nothing  but  a  little  straw  on 
the  rough  ground.  The  only  thing  homely  about  it 
was  a  smoky  fire  of  green  wood.  Still,  he  was  thank- 
ful for  that! 

Here,  too,  he  had  his  first  experience  of  "Tsan-pa," 
the  staple  food  of  Thibet,  which  consists  of  a  mixture 
of  well-boiled  tea,  salt,  butter  and  parched  wheaten 
flour.  This  is  stirred  by  each  member  of  the  com- 
munity in  his  own  basin,  and  without  further  prepara- 
tion the  Tsan-pa  is  ready  to  eat,  the  hand  doing  duty 
for  a  spoon. 

Their  landlord  gave  them,  moreover,  alarming  ac- 
counts of  the  difiiculties  and  dangers  that  lay  ahead. 
Indeed,  it  was  not  without  considerable  difficulty  that 
Cameron's  coolie  was  persuaded  to  continue.  He 
saw,  however,  that  the  foreigner  had  no  fear,  and 
realized  that  this  was  due  to  his  faith  in  God,  for,  of 
course,  he  had  no  arms. 

"Dangers  there  are,"  he  wrote,  "but  God  will  bring 
us  through."  Up  they  continued  next  day,  away 
above  the  snow  line,  into  the  intensest  cold,  for  Octo- 
ber was  now  well  advanced.  They  saw,  as  they  went, 
something  of  the   semi-nomadic   Man-tse,   as   these 

♦Chinese  women  are  not  allowed  further  west  than 
Ta-tslen-lu. 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     239 

Outer  Thibetans  are  called  by  their  Chinese  neigh- 
bors. Dressed  in  a  long,  rough  sheepskin  tunic  to 
the  knees,  with  a  colored  girdle  and  long  woolen 
boots,  and  with  long,  black,  matted  hair,  the  people 
presented  a  striking,  if  somewhat  barbarous  picture. 
As  to  their  imkempt  hair,  "some  are  mser,"  wrote 
Mr.  Cameron,  who  noticed  everything,  "and  cut  it 
off.'^  It  is  said  they  wash  at  New  Year  time,  but  it 
seems  improbable  that  they  do  so  at  any  other  season 
of  the  year. 

'Next  night  they  had  some  difficulty  in  obtaining  a 
lodging  at  all.  The  people  evidently  wanted  to  make 
a  "good  thing''  out  of  them,  which  was  more  than  the 
Scotchman  could  stand.  Prayer  prevailed,  and  they 
were  admitted.  As  they  entered,  a  huge  dog  leaped 
at  them,  but  was  happily  kept  back  by  a  powerful 
young  woman,  who  held  on  to  him  with  all  her  might. 
A  Chinaman  came  in  with  them,  and,  nothing  loth, 
joined  them  at  a  cup  of  hot  tea  —  delicious  and  re- 
freshing by  reason  of  being  hot,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son. But  Cameron  and  his  man  had  no  basins,  which 
provoked  a  smile  all  round.  They  were  accommo- 
dated, however,  by  the  family,  surprised  at  such  un- 
prepared travelers. 

Supper  consisted  of  bread  and  eggs,  which  they 
had  brought  with  them.  After  begging  for  and  ob- 
taining an  eggy  the  Chinaman  retired.  On  his  de- 
parture the  fun  began.  "I  wanted  to  learn  a  few 
words  of  the  (Thibetan)  language,  and  my  blunders 
afforded  entertainment;   it  does  not  seem  to  be  diffi- 


240  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

cult.  .  .  .  Yerj  soon  we  were  on  quite  friendly 
terms,  only  we  could  not  converse  much.  We  were 
invited  to  eat  Tsan-pa.  .  .  .  Supper  over,  our  sit- 
ting-room became  tlie  common  bedroom,  the  women 
taking  one  side  and  we  another.  They  only  strewed 
a  few  skins  on  the  floor,  the  garments  they  wore  dur- 
ing the  da}^  doing  duty  as  bed  covers."  Arising  early 
next  morning,  they  gave  their  good  host  the  equiva- 
lent of  eight  cents,  at  which  unexpected  liberality  he 
was  greatly  delighted. 

One  of  their  hardest  days  was  Saturday,  on  which 
they  had  to  cross  a  "huge  snow-clad  mountain. '^  It 
w^as  bitterly  cold,  the  keen  w^ind  piercing  to  their 
bones.  How  glad  they  were,  toward  evening,  to  be 
descending  on  the  farther  side ! 

As  they  hurried  along,  they  were  surprised  and 
delighted  to  hear  a  friendly  Chinese  voice,  and  soon 
found  themselves  comfortably  ensconced  in  a  little 
roadside  hut.  And  very  grateful  they  were  for  the 
hospitality,  after  the  long,  hard  week  of  traveling; 
and  greatly  they  enjoyed  a  good,  square  meal  of  tea, 
bread  and  soup  containing  meat !  Here  they  decided 
to  stay  over  Sunday;   and  well  it  was  they  did. 

For  on  Monday  they  had  a  still  more  difficult  time. 
They  had  started  early  and  traveled  hard;  but  as 
evening  drew  on  they  came  to  a  lonely  house,  and, 
warned  by  the  appearance  of  the  people,  determined 
to  go  on.  It  was  on  and  up.  Twilight  deepened  into 
darkness;  but,  happily,  the  moon  rose  to  light  them 
on  their  way.    Before  they  reached  the  highest  point 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     241 

they  were  nearly  fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea.  Glad  indeed  tliey  were  to  reach  the  summit,  for 
the  poor  coolie,  disheartened  and  exhausted,  had 
nearly  given  in. 

It  was  a  rough  descent  that  followed,  and  when  at 
last  they  reached  the  valley  it  was  late,  and  no  one 
dared  to  let  them  in.  Prayer  again  conquered,  and 
just  as  they  had  determined  to  pass  the  night  under 
the  eaves  of  a  temple,  the  door  was  opened;  they  were 
invited  in,  and  soon  were  seated  by  a  beautiful  warm 
fire,  with  hot  tea  before  them.  "The  people  of  the 
house  told  us  that  we  must  have  walked  fifty-six  miles 
since  morning." 

jSText  day  a  twenty-four  mile  walk  brought  them  to 
li-tang,  a  little  town  of  five  thousand  people,  chiefly 
interesting  as  being  one  of  the  highest  cities  in  the 
world.  The  only  noteworthy  building  was  the  great 
lamasery,  which  contained  three  thousand  priests. 
Lazy,  good-for-nothing  fellows,  haughty,  tyrannical, 
and  grossly  immoral,  these  lamas  naturally  dread  the 
influence  of  Christian  teaching.  ^'If  the  people  be- 
lieve your  doctrines,'^  they  sa}^,  ^Sve  shall  soon  be 
without  our  rice."  The  poor  people  have  to 

pay  tithes  four  times  a  year,  and  two-thirds  of  the 
land  is  said  to  belong  to  these  Buddhist  priests. 

Still  westward  the  travelers  continued  another 
week's  journey  to  Ba-tang,  traveling  steadily  up  and 
down  hill,  seldom  below  the  snow  line.  What  a 
week's  journey  it  was ! 

The  first  night  it  was  a  pitiful  place  they  came  to, 

16 


242  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

but  they  were  glad  enough  to  have  shelter.  It  was 
pleasant,  too,  to  be  staying  with  a  friendly  Chinaman, 
with  whom  Mr.  Cameron  could  speak  of  the  Glad 
News  which  he  longed  to  give  the  people.  ^^We  had 
no  fire,  and  not  feeling  well,  I  had  to  lie  down  with 
i\  burning  skin,  at  the  same  time  almost  shivering 
A\dth  cold."  Fever,  one  naturally  surmises.  But, 
^^TTp  early,  and  away,  before  the  sun  shone  over  the 
mountains,"  the  journal  continues. 

This  stage  of  their  journey  was  the  worst,  the 
highest  and  the  coldest  they  had  had.  It  came  to  an 
end,  however,  and  one  day  they  found  themselves  at 
an  altitude  of  fifteen  thousand  six  hundred  feet,  look- 
ing down  on  the  city  of  Ba-tang,  seven  thousand  feet 
below.  This  important  border  town  is  on  the  far 
side  of  the  Yang-tse  (here  narrowed  to  two  hundred 
yards  in  width)  and  quite  near  the  boundary  of  Inner 
Thibet. 

There  were,  however,  no  inns.  Many  inquiries 
v/ere  made  by  private  citizens  as  to  their  respectabil- 
ity, and  after  standing  to  answer  questions  again  and 
again,  they  were  denied  admission.  "At  last  a 
woman  took  pity  on  us,  and  led  us  to  a  resting  place — 
not  a  very  good  one,  but  we  were  thankful  for  it. 
'Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us.'  "  Gratefully 
they  took  their  supper,  and  lay  down  to  rest. 

"Sleep  I  could  not.  ...  At  last  I  struck  a  light, 
and,  to  my  dismay,  found  my  Ba-tang  bed  almost  as 
bad  as  those  that  had  caused  me  many  a  restless  night 
further  east.     My  foes  gave  me  no  peace.     There 


HOW  GOT)  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     243 

wjis  nothing  for  it  but  just  to  heave  a  sigh  and  lie 
down." 

At  Ba-tang  he  spent  four  days.  High  mountains 
surrounded  them,  running  ujo  to  as  much  as  twentv- 
two  thousand  feet,  but  down  in  the  valley  it  was  mild 
nnd  refreshing.  The  Chinese  mandarin  was  cordial, 
but  concerned  to  know  whether  Mr.  Cameron  in- 
tended to  attempt  Thibet.  "No?  Ah,  that  is  excel- 
lent. The  lamas  are  determined  in  their  opposition 
to  foreigners  crossing  the  border;  in  fact,  it  cannot 
he  done." 

This,  then,  was  the  end  of  their  journey.  From 
here  they  turned  south,  a  ten  days'  stage  still  among 
n  Thibetan  population,  as  far  as  A-ten-tse,  on  the 
liorder  of  Yun-nan.  On  the  third  day  he  reached 
and  stood  on  the  actual  frontier,  between  Thibet 
proper  and  Chinese  Thibet.  He  looked  across  at  the 
lonely  homes  of  the  Thibetans.  ^'As  I  gazed,"  he 
writes,  "I  wondered  when  the  messengers  of  Jesus 
would  have  free  access  there.  It  will  he  open  some 
day:' 

It  was  the  middle  of  E'ovember  before  they  de- 
scended from  the  mountains  to  the  compact  little 
flat-roofed  settlement  of  A-ten-tse.  ^N'arrow  streets, 
in  a  very  unsanitary  condition,  did  not  add  to  its  at- 
tractions. But  there  was  an  inn,  and  a  small  room 
was  vacant,  for  which  they  were  more  than  thankful. 

Surely,  God  had  timed  their  arrival  at  this  place, 
for  poor  Cameron  that  night  was  stricken  down  with 
a  severe  attack  of  remittent  fever,  and  for  more  than 


244  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

a  fortnight  lav,  weak  and  helpless^  more  than  once 
thinking  the  end  was  near.  His  heart,  however,  was 
in  perfect  peace.  What  could  be  better  than  to  be 
found  bj  the  Master  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  ? 
One  thing  only  troubled  him.  What  was  to  become 
of  his  unused  silver?  ISTot  that  there  would  havo 
been  very  much  of  it,  at  this  stage  of  his  journey, 
one  would  suppose.  '^See,  what  a  trouble  it  is  to  be 
rich!"  he  writes. 

But  far  away,  continually,  prayer  was  ascending 
for  the  lonely  traveler.  It  was  heard,  and  answered. 
Tlie  fever  abated,  and  on  the  third  of  December  he 
continued  his  journey  southward,  towards  Ta-li,  one 
of  the  principal  cities  of  Yun-nan.  He  did  not  start, 
however,  before  he  had  had  the  satisfaction  of  fully 
preaching  Christ  to  all  who  could  understand  him, 
rich  and  poor,  in  the  remote  border  town. 

From  here  onward,  happily,  the  traveling  was 
easier.  High,  barren,  snow-clad  uplands  were  grad- 
ually exchanged  for  low,  broad  valleys,  fertile  and  in- 
liabited,  and  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  Outer 
Thibet  were  left  behind. 

Very  beautiful  Ta-li  looked,  at  the  southern  end 
of  its  long,  wide  lake,  and  surrounded  by  a  populous, 
highly  cultivated  valley.  The  place  was  thoroughly 
open,  he  found,  for  Christian  work,  numerous  and 
attentive  audiences  hearing  the  Gospel  from  his  lips 
in  all  parts  of  the  city.  Moreover,  a  well-established 
work  was  already  under  way,  in  charge  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  bishop  and  two  priests. 


now  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     245 

"When  will  Protestant  missionaries  be  laboring  in 
these  regions?"  Cameron  wrote,  with  a  sigli,  ere  he 
left  the  city.  After  spending  Christmas  in  Ta-li,  lie 
continued  his  jonrnejj  following  now  in  the  steps  of 
McCarthy,  towards  Bham'o,  on  the  Burman  frontier. 
A  week's  journey  brought  hhii  to  the  important  city 
of  Yung-chang,  where  again  he  found  a  ready  hear- 
ing for  the  Gospel. 

The  next  stage,  to  Momieii,  was  more  difficult,  for 
banditti  had  been  committing  serious  depredations, 
and  trade  was  at  a  standstill.  A  military  expedition 
had  just  returned,  after  beheading  seventeen  of  the 
marauders.  Otherwise  it  might  not  have  been  prac- 
ticable to  continue  the  journey  towards  Manwyne, 
the  last  city  in  China.  At  this  place  they  Avere  enter- 
tained by  a  kindly  old  lady,  who  could  not  say  enough 
of  the  missionaries  in  Bhamo.  Her  son  had  been 
lying  at  death's  door,  unconscious,  in  the  delirium 
of  high  fever,  at  a  lonely  place  among  the  Kah-chen 
hills;  but  Avhen  the  mother  had  arrived  she  found 
two  missionaries  in  charge,  doing  all  that  could  be 
done,  and  her  son  well  on  the  way  to  complete  re- 
covery. "How  can  I  express  my  gratitude,"  she 
asked,  "to  the  strangers  who  had  saved  his  life?" 
They  proved  to  be  none  other  than  Stevenson  and 
Soltau,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission. 

After  spending  three  days  at  Manwyne,  working 
among  the  Chinese,  Kah-chens  and  Shans  that 
thronged  its  busy  streets,  Cameron  continued  his 
journey  up  into   the   border  highlands,   imder  the 


24:6  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

escort  of  a  mountain  chief,  sometimes  having  to  sleep 
in  the  open,  sometimes  meeting  with  cordial  hospital- 
ity, and  finding  many  opportunities  for  preaching  by 
the  way,  until  at  last  his  road  descended  into  the 
valley  of  the  Irrawaddy. 

Here,  at  Bhamo,  he  made  a  short  stay  with  Messrs. 
Soltau  and  Adams,  and  then,  being  forbidden  by  the 
British  Resident  to  return,  descended  the  river,  took 

steamer  to  Canton,  and  so  reentered  China. 
*  *  #  -x-  *  *  * 

Within  two  years  from  the  signing  of  the  Chefoo 
Convention,  in  September,  1876,  the  pioneer  workers 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission  had  traveled  in  every 
part  of  the  country,  more  than  thirty  thousand  miles. 
A  little  map  was  published  in  May,  1878,  giving  a 
vivid  impression  of  the  widespread  itinerations  of 
these  early  years.  It  is  not  easy,  as  one  looks  at  the 
little  map,  to  realize  how  much  of  real  hardship,  of 
faith,  of  courage  and  persistent  effort  it  represents. 

Many  have  been  the  happy  results  of  those  early 
journeyings.  E'ever  before  had  the  country  been  so 
open.  The  new  treaty  had  more  force,  while  it  was 
still  new,  than  it  would  have  later,  and  in  every 
part  of  the  country  the  workers  were  welcomed  by 
the  mandarins  and,  therefore,  by  the  people. 

An  immense  amount  of  Christian  literature  was 
put  into  circulation.  Friendly  impressions  were  pro- 
duced by  the  quiet,  unostentatious  travelers,  and  it 
was  well  for  the  people  of  the  remoter  provinces  that 
their  first  contact  with  Western  civilization  should  be 


HOW  GOD  OPENED  THE  FAR  INTERIOR.     247 

through  these  earnest,  loving,  considerate  mission- 
aries, who  came  in  the  dress  of  the  people,  and 
brought  them  nothing  but  good  news  and  love. 
Cameron  alone,  within  six  years,  had  visited  every 
province  in  China  but  one,  and  immense  numbers  of 
people  must  have  heard  the  Gospel  for  the  first  time 
from  his  lips  and  received  it  from  his  hands. 

This,  however,  after  all,  was  but  the  scaffolding 
for  future  building.  Permanent  location  in  these 
remote  districts  soon  followed,  and  itineration  had 
shown  where  a  peaceable  entrance  could  most  likely 
be  obtained.  The  missionaries  bore  in  mind,  of 
course,  the  settled  principle  to  enter  first  the  larger 
and  more  important  cities.  This  plan  was  modified, 
however,  by  the  duty — "If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as 
in  you  lieth,  live  peaceably  with  all  men.'' 

Commencing  with  extensive  evangelization,  more- 
over, was  the  plan  on  which  our  Lord  Himself  and 
the  early  Apostles  worked.  When  asked  to  stay 
where  an  opening  had  been  won,  our  Lord  replied: 
*Tet  us  go  into  the  next  towns,  that  I  may  preach 
there,  also;  for  therefore  am  I  sent."  And  the  early 
disciples,  who  themselves  received  the  last  command 
to  ^'go  into  all  the  world,"  carried  out  their  instruc- 
tions literally,  and  "went  everywhere,  preaching  the 
Word." 

History  has  proved  that  this  method  paid  in  those 
early  days.  Modern  history  proves  that  this  same 
method  pays  among  the  heathen  of  to-day.  It  is 
much  easier  to  obtain  a  residence  in  a  city  where 


248  THESE  FORTY  YEAES. 

the  missionary  has  visited  repeatedly  before  and  does 
not  come  as  a  stranger.  It  is  much  easier,  also,  in 
this  way  to  avoid  serious  mistakes  in  locating. 

The  Gospel  preached  is  the  same  incorruptible  seed 
as  of  old.  It  does  not  perish.  Here  and  there  it 
lies  dormant  for  years,  but  in  every  part  of  the 
country  prepared  souls  are  found,  ready  to  receive 
it  in  the  good  soil  of  honest  hearts.  ^'What  is  the 
seed?"  Mr.  Taylor  asks,  writing  of  this  work.  "The 
seed  is  the  preached  Gospel,  the  proclaimed  Good 
I^ews  of  something  which  the  heathen,  as  they  are, 
can  appreciate.  .  .  .  Talk  theory  to  the  heathen, 
and  they  are  generally  unmoved.  .  .  .  But,  as  ex- 
perience proves,  tell  your  audience  that  you  have  an 
infallible  help  for  every  opium  smoker,  for  every 
dininkard,  for  every  gambler — a  Saviour,  Avho  has 
never  once  failed  to  save  immediately  any  soul  that 
really  trusted  Him,  both  from  the  power  of  sin  and 
from  its  eternal  consequences,  and  you  will  soon  see 
that  the  Gospel  is  good  news  to  your  hearers ;  that  it 
can  conmiand  attention,  and  will  accomplish  the 
mightiest  changes. 

''But  so  to  preach  Christ,  we  must  ourselves  be 
filled  with  the  Spirit;  be  abiding  in  Christ;  be  con- 
scious of  the  fullness  and  power  of  His  great  sal- 
vation." 


CHAPTEK   XL 


THE  FIRST  WOMEN  TO  GO  INLAND. 

Thus  we  have  traced  the  steps  by  which  God  an- 
swered prayer  and  oi)ened  the  gates  of  the  west,  and 
the  stages  by  which  province  after  j)rovince  was  en- 
tered by  these  missionary  pioneers.  All  glory  to 
God,  Who  worketh  for  them  that  wait  for  Him. 

The  story  of  the  opening  of  the  far  interior  would 
be  incomplete,  however,  without  telling  of  the  brave 
women  who  were  the  first  to  enter  these  western  and 
northern  and  southern  provinces.  For  if  the  two 
years  from  the  autumn  of  1876  to  the  summer  of 
1878  were  remarkable  for  those  early  journeyings, 
the  next  three  years,  from  the  middle  of  1878  to  the 
end  of  1881,  were  equally  notable  for  the  courageous 
entrance  of  women  missionaries  into  the  newly 
opened  field. 

The  first  to  go  in  were  Mrs.  Hudson  Taylor  and 
two  single  ladies — Miss  Home  and  Miss  Crickmay — 
to  the  northern  province  of  Shan-si. 

But  before  following  those  who  went,  a  prior  ques- 
tion will  occur  to  some:  Why  did  they  go  at  all,  so 
far  from  civilization  and  comfort  and  safety?  It  goes 
without  saying — Not  at  the  mere  dictate  of  fancy  or 
impulse.  Two  facts  compelled  them.  Jesus  com- 
mands it:  "Preach  the  Gospel,"  He  says,  "to  every 

249 


250  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

creature."  And  clearly  '•'every  creature"  in  ''all  the 
world"  includes  the  two  or  three  lumdred  millions  of 
inland  China  —  includes  the  women  as  well  as  the 
men.  This  decided  them;  this  and  the  women's 
need. 

Unwelcome  when  born,  untaught  in  childhood,  un- 
loved in  womanhood  and  unhonored  in  old  age,  the 
women  of  China  need  the  Gospel  of  the  love  of  Grod 
and  all  it  brings  as  much,  surely,  as  any  women  in 
the  world!  It  would  seem  almost  as  if  Christianity 
did  more  for  the  women  than  for  the  men,  especially 
in  a  country  like  China,  were  it  not  that  man  gains 
equally,  of  course,  by  all  that  uplifts  woman. 

Every  fourth  woman  in  the  world  is  a  China- 
woman, and  more  than  three-fourths  of  these  were 
utterly  beyond  all  hope  of  enlightenment  if  their 
Christian  sisters  stayed  at  the  coast.  A  Christless 
life  must  culminate  in  a  Christless  death,  unless 
Christ's  women,  for  His  sake  and  theirs,  would  give 
them  the  Gospel.  The  love  of  Christ  con- 

strained them.  And  the  unspeakable  need  of  the 
women  called  almost  as  clearly  as  the  still,  small 
voice  commanded. 

So  they  went. 

Mrs.  Taylor's  going  was  especially  difficult. 
Christmas,  1877,  had  been  a  time  of  great  rejoicing, 
for  it  brought  home  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  after  a  sep- 
aration of  a  year  and  more  from  ^vife  and  children. 

But  the  new  year  of  1878  was  still  young  when  a 
great  opportunity  arose  in  China.    The  famine  in  the 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  251 

north  had  become  terrible  beyond  all  precedent.  SLx 
millions  were  on  the  verge  of  starvation  by  Janiiaiy, 
1878  (and  more  than  that  number,  probably  not  less 
than  nine  millions,  perished  before  it  was  over). 
Missionaries  had  embraced  the  opportunity  of  show- 
ing the  practical  side  of  our  Christian  faith,  and  had 
gone  into  the  famine-sweiDt  regions,  rank  with  death 
and  scourged  with  famine  fever,  that  most  contagious 
of  diseases,  at  the  risk  of  life,  with  famine  relief. 
Native  authorities  welcomed  them  cordially,  and  thus 
their  safety  from  violence  and  their  welcome  by  the 
masses  were  assured.  It  was  the  greatest  opportunity 
of  the  century. 

Among  the  famine  sufferers,  the  lot  of  the  children 
was  especially  pitiful,  as  indeed  that  of  the  weak  and 
helpless  invariably  is  among  heathen  peoples.  Hun- 
dreds of  them  were  dying  every  day;  hundreds  more 
were  being  sold  into  slavery,  to  go  south  into  lives  of 
misery  and  shame.  Surely  something  must  be  done 
for  them.  Prayer  confirmed  this  impression, 

and  in  the  spring  of  1878,  only  two  or  three  short 
months  after  their  reunion,  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  sug- 
gested to  Mrs.  Taylor  that  perhaps  she  ought  to  go. 
jSTone  of  the  exj)erienced  workers  in  China  could  be 
spared  from  their  posts.  If  she  did  hot  go,  who 
could? 

Such  a  suggestion  could  neither  be  declined  nor 
accepted  in  a  hurry.  It  involved  leaving  the  chil- 
dren, and  separation  again  so  soon  for  husband  and 
mf e.    "VVh^t  it  cost  to  make  the  suggestion  Mrs.  Tay- 


252  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

lor  full  well  knew.  Could  it  be  her  duty?  One  thing 
was  sure.  If  God  wished  it,  He  could  provide  for  the 
children.  Would  He?  At  first  it  seemed  not,  but 
further  prayer  removed  this  obstacle  completely. 
Still  some  thought  it  wrong.  So  they  put  God  to  the 
test.  Mrs.  Taylor  asked  the  Lord  one  day  to  send 
her  the  money  for  her  outfit,  and  to  give  her  also 
£50  for  a  special  purpose — ^just  that,  neither  more 
nor  less.  If  He  gave  her  a  sign,  and  did  both,  surely 
her  way  would  be  clear. 

That  very  day  a  visitor  called  to  see  her  and  in- 
quired was  she  really  going.  On  hearing  that  she 
expected  to  go,  he  handed  her  a  check  for  the  outfit, 
for  that  and  nothing  else — exactly  the  sum  allotted 
to  outgoing  missionaries  for  that  purpose.  But  that 
was  only  half  her  prayer.  Yes;  but  three  days  later 
came  a  check  for  £50,  with  express  permission  to  use 
it  for  the  purpose  desired.  Is  not  God  more  ready 
to  answer  than  we  to  pray? 

More  than  this,  God  gave  Mrs.  Taylor  a  third  en- 
couragement. The  proposed  orphanage  and  other 
work  in  Shan-si  would  involve  expense.  'Tf  you  for 
Christ's  sake  can  separate,"  wrote  a  donor,  "I  cannot 
give  less  than  this."  And  he  inclosed  a  check  for  a 
thousand  pounds  sterling  ($5,000),  which  he  could  ill 
spare  from  his  business.  And  his  generous  gift  and 
kind  words  came  the  very  day  Mrs.  Taylor  was  to  sail 
for  China,  while  they  w^ere  holding  a  farewell  com- 
munion service.    WTiat  a  loving  Father  we  have! 

The  provision  for  her  fellow-travelers,  the  others 


THE    FIRST    WOxMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  253 

of  the  outgoing  party,  was  scarcely  less  remarkable; 
and  on  May  2n(i  they  started,  full  of  confidence  and 
expectation,  if  some  of  them  with  aching  hearts. 
They  reached  China  at  the  beginning  of  summer,  and 
as  soon  as  it  was  safe  to  travel,  in  the  early  autumn, 
cordial  letters  came  from  Shan-si  inviting  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor to  come  at  once,  and  all  necessary  arrangements 
would  be  made  for  her.  This  she  did,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  Miss  Home  and  Miss  Crickmay,  both  of 
whom  had  been  in  China  long  enough  to  learn  the 
language.  An  experienced  escort  was  provided  for 
them  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Bailer,  and  September, 
1878,  found  them  on  the  way. 

After  a  sad  journey  through  desolated  towns  and 
cities,  with  scarcely  a  child  and  no  babies  to  be  seen, 
they  reached  T'ai-yuan  in  safety,  on  October  24th. 
''With  what  grateful  hearts  to  God,''  wrote  Mr. 
Taylor  when  the  nev/s  reached  him,  ''do  we  record 
the  safe  arrival  of  our  iirst  party  of  missionary 
sisters  at  the  capital  of  one  of  the  nine  hitherto  un- 
evangelized  provinces!" 

iS^ot  long  after  their  arrival,  Mr.  James  returned 
with  his  bride,  and  a  little  later,  Mr.  Timothy  Eichard 
came  back  with  his  wife.  Work  was  immediately 
commenced  among  the  women  of  the  city,  many 
visits  being  paid  to  their  homes  and  sewing  classes 
being  started  as  a  means  of  giving  relief  to  the  desti- 
tute women.  At  the  same  time,  premises  were  se- 
cured for  an  orphanage,  and  a  number  of  little 
orphan  girls  received  into  its  loving  shelter. 


254  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

There  was  more  difficulty,  however,  than  had  been 
expected  in  gathering  children  for  the  home,  for  the 
sad  reason  that  there  were  very  few  children  to 
gather.  Most  of  the  little  girls  had  either  died  of 
starvation,  or  had  been  sold  to  the  Southerners,  who 
came  north  with  bags  of  money  on  their  evil  errand 
during  the  early  part  of  the  famine.  During  the 
whole  of  Mrs.  Taylor's  stay  she  saw  only  one  little 
baby  in  T'ai-yuan!  In  such  ways  as  these,  the 

confidence  of  the  people  was  soon  won,  and  many 
homes  were  opened  to  them  all  over  the  city. 

It  is  not  easy,  perhaps,  to  realize  what  those 
months  of  work  in  that  famine-stricken  district  in- 
volved for  Mrs.  Taylor;  but  she  never  regretted  the 
sacrifice,  and  years  aftei-wards  she  had  the  joy  of 
seeing  four  of  those  children,  who  had  been  left  at 
home  in  the  care  of  others,  fellow-laborers  with  her 
in  China.  To  children,  as  well  as  adults,  example 
speaks  louder  than  precept. 


In  the  following  spring,  the  way  opening  for  Mr. 
Taylor  to  return  to  China,  he  was  joined  at  the  coast 
by  Mrs.  Taylor,  the  women's  work  at  T'ai-yuan  being 
carried  on  by  her  companions. 

In  the  summer,  Mr.  Taylor  was  very  seriously  ill, 
his  life  being  despaired  of  for  a  time.  A  visit,  how- 
ever, to  Chefoo,  then  little  known  as  a  health  resort, 
Avas  used  of  God  to  his  restoration.  Mr.  Taylor  was, 
moreover,  so  impressed  with  the  value  of  the  place 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  255 

as  a  health  resort,  with  its  invigorating  climate,  that 
this  visit  resulted,  later  on,  in  the  establishment  of 
a  China  Inland  Mission  Sanitarium  and  a  school 
for  missionaries'  children.  The  latter  has  grown 
steadily  ever  since,  and  can  now  accommodate  two 
hundred  and  fifty  children. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  what  a  benefit  the  Sani- 
tarium has  been  to  sick  and  convalescent  missionaries, 
who  would  otherwise  have  had  to  take  the  long  and 
expensive  journey  home,  or,  if  that  were  impracti- 
cable from  their  condition,  might  have  died  for  lack 
of  just  such  means  of  recuperation.  It  is  equally 
easy  to  see  what  a  blessing  the  schools  have  been,  en- 
abling the  children  to  be  educated  without  leaving 
China,  and  at  a  minimum  expense.  The  education 
given  has  been  thorough,  the  boys  and  girls  being 
prepared  for  college  or  university  in  America  or  Eng- 
land. As  far  as  room  permitted,  the  children  of  other 
missionaries  and  of  merchants  and  other  residents 
have  been  made  welcome.  The  Preparatory  School 
takes  children  from  six  or  seven  to  ten,  and  the  Boys' 
and  Girls'  Schools  keep  them  until  they  are  seventeen 
or  eighteen  years  of  age. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Taylor  was  sufficiently  restored  to 
health,  he  and  Mrs.  Taylor  went  down  to  the  Yang-tse 
valley  again  and  did  all  in  their  power  to  facilitate 
the  lady  workers'  going  inland,  either  with  their  hus- 
bands or,  if  single,  under  the  care  of  suitable  and 
experienced  escorts. 

The  next  of  our  lady  missionaries  to  go  inland  was 


256  THESE    EOETY   YEARS. 

the  bride  of  George  Iviiig,  wlio  had  come  down  to  the 
coast  from  the  far  northwest,  and  they  were  now  re- 
turning, with  mingled  joy  and  concern  at  the  thought 
of  the  future  and  the  Avork  that  lay  before  them. 
From  Han-kow,  the  Chicago  of  mid-China,  they 
started  inland,  up  the  great  Han  river,  on  their  three 
or  four  monthis'  journey  toward  Shen-si  and  Kan-suh, 
the  field  of  Mr.  King's  former  journey ings.  Con- 
siderable care  had  to  be  taken  on  this  trip  up  river, 
for  the  people  had  been  somewhat  excited  by  the 
advent  of  the  men  missionaries  from  time  to  time 
during  the  previous  two  or  three  years,  and  it  was 
very  important  to  avoid  unfriendly  rumors  traveling 
up  the  river  before  them  to  increase  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  a  home  at  the  journey's  end. 

On  the  way  an  amusing  incident  occurred,  the 
significance  of  which  did  not  appear  at  the  time,  but 
was  duly  appreciated  later.  It  happened  one  day 
that,  the  vrnid  being  contrary,  the  crew  were  out  on 
the  tow-path.  They  came  in  as  usual  at  noon  for 
the  mid-day  meal,  and  naturally,  their  appetites  were 
hearty.  As  soon  as  dinner  was  over,  they  started 
out  to  track  again,  but  before  long  one  of  the  men 
Avas  seized  with  violent  pains  and  came  on  board  the 
boat  doubled  up  with  agony.  "Ah-yah !  Ah-yah !" 
he  cried,  "I  am  going  to  die!" — so  severe  was  the 
pain.  Mr.  King  came  out  of  the  little  cabin  to  learn 
what  was  the  matter,  and  soon  discovered  that  the 
patient  was  suffering  from  what  seemed  to  be  violent 
indigestion.    Among  the  wedding  presents  had  been, 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  257 

conveniently,  a  little  homoeopathic  medicine  chest, 
containing  also  Kuddock's  ''Yade  Mecum.''  This  he 
consulted;  the  remedy  was  nux  vomica.  One  or  two 
drops  of  this  tincture  were  forthwith  administered  to 
the  suffering  coolie,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  pain 
vanished,  the  bitter  medicine  acting  like  a  charm. 
IS'eedless  to  say,  not  only  the  patient,  but  the  whole 
boat's  crew,  were  greatly  delighted.  If  that  man  had 
died  upon  their  hands,  the  whole  trip  would  have 
been  unlucky,  and  his  spirit  would  have  continued  to 
haunt  the  boat  for  no  one  knows  how  long:  and  there 
he  was  sitting  up,  quite  well,  and  smiling! 

The  little  incident  was  soon  forgotten  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  King;  but  not  so  by  the  coolies,  who  on  the  tow- 
path  met  continually  their  friends  and  acquaintances, 
and  gave  them  a  graphic  account  of  the  astonishing 
incident.  Far  and  fast  the  good  news  spread,  not 
diminishing  as  it  went,  until  they  reached  the  great 
city  of  Han-chong,  after  three  months'  traveling,  the 
fame  of  Mr.  King  as  a  doctor  was  fairly  well  recog- 
nized ! 

The  autumn  was  past.  It  was  now  J^ovember, 
find  the  weather  was  getting  quite  severely  cold. 
Mr.  King  felt  it  would  be  well  to  end  their  journey 
at  this  point,  if  possible,  at  any  rate,  for  the  winter. 
At  first,  there  was,  as  usual,  great  difficulty  in  renting 
premises,  but  a  mandarin,  who  had  known  Mr.  King 
before,  and  who  was  particularly  glad  to  welcome 
him  as  a  doctor,  lent  his  aid  at  this  juncture,  and 
difficulties  vanished.     A  comfortable  house  was  se- 

17 


^58  THESE    EORTY    YEARS. 

cured,  with  a  large  giiest-room  that  would  seat  a 
couple  of  hundred  people;  just  the  very  thing  for 
their  work.  The  '^doctor''  had  crowds  of  men  vis- 
itors and  patients,  and  Mrs.  King  was  kept  just  as 
busy  with  the  scores  of  women  w4io  crowded  to  the 
"inner"  rooms.  In  the  spring  they  were  able  to 
report  an  attendance  of  about  a  hundred  at  public 
worship,  many  of  them  women;  and  they  added, 
"Mr.  King  already  has  had  the  joy  of  baptizing  one 
man,  the  first-fruits  of  Shen-si." 

Thus  woman's  work  was  commenced  in  the  second 
of  the  nine  unevangeli^ed  provinces  of  the  interior; 
work  which  has  gone  on  increasing  ever  since,  and 
has  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  considerable  num- 
bers of  women,  who  have  thus  formed  the  early  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  Christ  in  that  far  northwestern 
province. 

Sad  to  tell,  little  more  than  a  year  later,  Mrs. 
King  succumbed  to  the  climate  and  the  arduous 
duties  of  her  overwhelming  work.  In  May,  1881, 
she  passed  away  with  typhoid  fever,  leaving  a  little 
son  but  five  months  old.  She  gave  her  life  for  the 
women,  and  was  the  first  missionary  woman  to  be 
laid  to  rest  in  the  far  interior. 

Twelve  months  before  her  home  call,  happily,  Mrs. 
King  had  the  joy  of  welcoming  reinforcements.  A 
middle-aged  lady,  who  had  gone  to  China  at  her 
own  expense  four  years  before.  Miss  Elizabeth  Wil- 
son, of  Kendal,  volunteered  to  take  that  long  journey 
up  the  Han.    Her  offer  was  accepted.    She  and  Miss 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  259 

Faussett,  now  Mrs.  Samuel  Clarke,  of  Kuei-yang, 
started  on  their  journey  in  February,  1880,  and  three 
months  later  arrived  safely  in  Han-chong — the  first 
ladies  to  travel  alone  into  distant  parts  of  the  empire. 
Two  native  Christians  went  mth  them  as  servants, 
but  they  neither  had,  nor  desired,  any  other  escort 
than  these  and  the  unseen  Fellow-traveler,  to  whose 
protection  they  had  been  lovingly  commended,  and. 
who  brought  them  safely  on  their  way.  To 

these  ladies   Mrs.   King  left  the  work  among  the 
women  at  Han-chong. 


While  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  King  were  still  on 
their  way  up  the  Han,  two  other  brides  started  west- 
ward to  work  among  the  women  in  Si-ch'uan  and 
Kuei-chau. 

For  in  mid-autumn,  1879,  two  other  pioneer  evan- 
gelists had  been  married  in  the  beautiful  cathedral  at 
Shanghai.  And  in  October,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McoU  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Clarke  started  together  on  their 
long  and  penlous  journey.  By  steamer  they  went 
up  the  Yang-tse  to  Han-kow,  by  native  house-boat 
many  stages  farther  to  I-chang;  and  thence,  by  Si- 
ch'uan  junk,  they  traveled  up  the  rapids  towards 
Chung-king.  These  junks,  at  once  strong  and  light, 
are  especially  built  for  the  ^^rapid'^  region,  which 
commences  a  short  distance  above  I-chang  and 
reaches  upward  ahnost  as  far  as  Uan-hsien,  form- 
ing, with  the  magnificent  mountains  that  flank  the 


260  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

river  on  eitlier  side,  the  natural  frontier  of  the  fertile 
province  of  Si-ch'uan.  Up  the  rapids  the  boat  has  to 
be  towed  by  a  gang  of  coolies,  fifty  or  a  hundred 
strong.  They  attach  themselves  to  a  stout  hawser  (of 
plaited  bamboo-withes)  wliich  is  securely  fastened  to 
the  junk,  and  then  proceed  to  haul  the  boat,  inch  by 
inch,  up  the  surging  river,  being  often  bent  double 
with  the  strain  on  the  narrow  tow-path.  The  path 
itself,  in  many  places,  is  a  piece  of  engineering,  and 
has  been  blasted  out  of  the  side  of  precipitous  rocks, 
which  rise  a  thousand  or  two  thousand  feet  from 
the  river. 

Thus  they  traveled  westward,  all  l^ovember  and 
December,  till  nearly  Christmas.  One  day,  when 
they  had  nearly  passed  the  dangerous  region,  their 
boat  struck  suddenly  on  a  submerged  rock  and  rapidly 
began  to  fill.  "All  ashore,"  was  the  cry.  The  sink- 
ing boat  was  quickly  brought  to  the  bank,  and  as 
rapidly  as  possible  passengers  and  crew  unloaded  it. 
ISTot  ouly  all  the  lives,  but  all  their  property  was 
saved:  the  only  serious  damage  being  to  a  large  con- 
signment of  Scriptures,  but  even  they  were  not  un- 
salable. These  and  their  other  belongings  they  now 
proceeded  to  dry  on  shore,  while  the  boatmen  labored 
to  make  their  little  vessel  water-tight. 

Thus  Christmas  passed  happily  enough,  the  grate- 
ful little  party  working  by  day  unpacking  and  re- 
packing, and  sleeping  by  night  as  best  they  could, 
with  no  better  protection  from  wind  and  rain  than 
their  umbrellas! 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  261 

At  leiigtli,  on  December  29th,  the  boat  was  ready. 
They  reembarked,  none  the  worse  for  their  trying 
experience.  Again  slowly  they  tracked  up  the 
stream,  but  before  they  had  made  much  progress  the 
rope  broke,  the  mast  snapped  and  with  all  the  violence 
of  the  foaming  stream  they  were  plunged  down  the 
river  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  Boatmen  and  pas- 
sengers strained  every  nerve  at  the  oars,  and  at  last 
they  brought  up  at  the  side  of  the  river,  at  the  very 
spot  where  they  had  spent  the  Christmas  week. 

This  decided  them  to  finish  the  journey  by  a  safer 
route.  A  servant  was  sent  ahead  for  sedan  chairs, 
and  in  them  they  traveled  overland  the  remaining 
stages  of  the  journey  to  Chung-king.  This  great 
commercial  emporium  of  the  west  was  to  be  the  home 
of  the  l^icolls.  Here,  accordingly,  they  made  them- 
selves at  home,  warmly  greeted  by  Riley  and  Samuel 
Clarke.  Very  soon  the  forlorn-looking  bachelor 
quarters  took  on  a  very  different  appearance.  In  a 
few  days  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nicoll  had  settled  into  their 
Chinese  home.  Here,  also,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George 
Clarke  "rested"  for  a  week:  a  week  busy  with 
crowds  of  women  visitors,  who  came  to  call  and 
to  satisfy  their  curiosity  about  the  women  for- 
eigners. They  came  in  such  numbers  that  one 
or  two  hundred  a  day  was  the  ordinary  number 
in  the  inner  premises.  (Later,  during  the  two  or 
three  weeks'  holiday  which  comes  each  'New  Year, 
not  infrequently  as  many  as  five  hundred  would 
come  in  a  day!)    Thankful  indeed  were  the  workers 


262  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

for  this  new  field  of  service,  and  for  the  wide-open 
door  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  people.  But 
thankful  as  were  the  missionaries  for  this  splendid 
opportunity,  it  is  needless  to  say  that  Mrs.  Nicoll  fre- 
quently felt  the  strain  to  be  ahnost  more  than  she 
could  bear.  Indeed,  sometimes  she  would  faint  right 
away  in  the  midst  of  her  visitors,  who  appreciated 
none  the  less  the  kindliness  of  the  worker  who  was 
spending  and  being  spent  for  them.  One  friend  she 
had  in  particular,  a  dear  old  motherly  lady,  who 
would  insist  sometimes  upon  her  coming  and  spend- 
ing the  day  in  her  home.  Early  morning  would  find 
the  old  lady's  sedan  chair  at  the  door,  and  as  soon  as 
the  missionary  arrived  she  would  take  her  into  a  quiet 
room,  having  dismissed  the  children  and  younger 
women,  and  quietly  fan  her  to  sleep,  while  she  her- 
self kept  guard.  As  soon  as  her  loved  visitor  was 
quietly  resting,  she  would  steal  away  on  her  tiny  feet 
to  prepare  a  sumptuous  dinner,  as  tempting  as  she 
knew  how  to  provide.  At  other  times,  the  kind  old 
lady  would  cook  some  specially  delicious  dish  and 
send  it  round  to  the  Mission  House  to  tempt  the 
appetite  of  her  weary  friend. 

Thus,  isolated  from  all  her  own  friends  and  fellow- 
country  women,  Mrs.  Mcoll  was  cheered  by  love  and 
gratitude  from  the  people  amongst  whom  she  had 
come  to  live.  No  wonder  the  work  at  times  was  tax- 
ing; she  was  the  only  woman  missionary  amongst  the 
forty  or  sixty  millions  of  that  largest  of  the  prov- 
inces! 


THE   FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  263 

It  is  easy  to  understand  how  much  Mrs.  Nicoll  felt 
the  parting  when,  a  week  after  their  arrival,  the  time 
came  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Clarke  to  continue 
their  journey  southward  to  the  capital  of  Kuei-chau. 
The  double  wedding  at  Shanghai,  the  long  journey 
together  up  river,  with  its  vicissitudes  and  hardships, 
had  knit  their  hearts  together.  But  now  they  must 
part.  Together  she  and  Mrs.  Clarke  knelt  in  prayer 
and  commended  one  another  to  the  love  and  to  the 
companionship  of  the  Fiiend  who  is  closer  than  a 
sister. 

Sedan  chairs  were  hired,  and  away  started  IMr.  and 
Mrs.  George  Clarke  for  a  four  weeks'  journey  to  the 
south.  By  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  them,  their 
difficult  but  quiet  journey  came  safely  to  an  end:  and 
very  warmly  were  they  welcomed  on  their  an-ival  at 
Kuei-yang  by  Mr.  Broumton.  Here  for  a  Avhile  Mrs. 
Clarke  was  the  only  worker  among-st  the  women  of 
that  province,  a  large  proportion  of  whom,  alas !  had 
become  victims  during  recent  years  of  the  terrible 
opium  habit. 

Kot  long,  however,  after  the  arrival  at  Kuei-yang 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke,  two  other  ladies  started  out 
to  join  them.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  McCarthy,  on 
their  arrival  in  China  about  a  year  before,  had 
been  designated  for  Kuei-chau.  The  mid-summer 
heat  of  mid-China  proved  too  much  for  Mr.  McCar- 
thy, however,  and  after  a  brief  illness  he  passed  away 
with  heat-apoplexy,  beloved  already  and  regretted  by 
his  fellow-workers.     ^^His  brief  career  has  been  a 


264  THESE   FOKTY    YEARS. 

blessing  to  us  all/'  said  one.  "I  am  a  better  man  for 
having  known  him,  though  for  so  short  a  time.'' 

Thus  early  in  her  missionary  life  Mrs.  McCarthy 
was  left  a  widow.  "We  were  going  west  together, 
and,  God  willing,  I  still  will  go,"  she  determined. 
She  volunteered  and  went.  Miss  Kidd  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Carthy left  Wu-ch'ang  in  February,  1880.  To  avoid 
the  dangers  and  perils  of  the  journey  up  the  rapids 
of  the  Yang-tse,  it  was  decided  to  travel  by  the  more 
direct  route  across  Hu-nan. 

They  traveled  under  the  escort  of  Mr.  Bailer,  and 
were  the  first  women  to  evangelize  amongst  the 
women  of  Hu-nan.  This  province  had  long  been 
known,  with  that  of  Ho-nan  farther  north,  as  the 
most  anti-foreign  in  China.  And  yet  the  Lord  so 
prospered  these  pioneer  women  that  they  traveled  in 
perfect  safety,  preaching  to  and  visiting  the  women 
all  along  the  way.  "I  like  these  Hu-nan  women  so 
much,"  wrote  Miss  Kidd.  "They  have  been  veiy 
kind,  and  most  mlling  to  receive  us  and  to  listen  to 
our  message.  'Why  do  you  liot  stay  to  teach  us?' 
they  would  ask  at  some  places.  'Why  do  you  go  on 
to  Kuei-chau?  We,  too,  are  longing  to  hear.'  We 
Avere  much  struck  all  along  our  river  journey  through 
Hu-nan  by  the  well-to-do  appearance  of  the  peoj^le 
and  the  remarkable  beauty  of  the  scenery." 

We  can  easily  imagine  what  a  welcome  awaited  the 
travelers  when,  having  left  their  boat,  a  ten  days' 
ride  in  chairs  across  the  mountains  brought  them  to 
Kuei-yang. 


THE    i'lKST    WOME2V     TO    GO    l>;i.AND.  205 

A  few  months  later  a  little  son  arrived  to  cheer  the 
hearts  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke,  but  the  first  winter 
proved  too  much  for  the  little  one,  and  before  Christ- 
mas his  little  place  was  empty.  ^The  Lord  gave ; 
the  Lord  has  taken  away.  Blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord!" — felt  the  stricken  parents:  and  as 
they  waited  on  God  about  the  matter,  the  conviction 
formed  and  grew  in  their  hearts  that  God  had  set 
them  free  to  go  still  farther  afield  to  the  women  of 
the  unreached  province  beyond.  Satisfied  that  this 
impression  was  of  God,  they  \vrote  to  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor,  volunteering  to  work  in  the  far  southwestern 
province  of  Yun-nan. 

And  now  occurred  one  of  those  remarkable  coinci- 
dences that  so  often  happen  in  connection  with 
prayer.  On  the  Burman  frontier  of  China,  just  be- 
yond Yun-nan,  two  members  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  had  been  laboring.  Four  years  previously 
they  had  gone  to  Bhamo,  in  upper  Burmah,  hoping 
by  that  route  to  enter  western  China.  Their  way  had 
been  barred  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The  Brit- 
ish authorities  notified  them  that  the  journey  across 
the  mountains,  among  the  wild  Kah-chens  and  Shans, 
was  too  dangerous  to  be  attempted;  especially  under 
the  existing  treaty  relationship  with  China.  Messrs. 
Stevenson  and  Soltau  settled,  therefore,  in  Bhamo, 
laboring  not  only  amongst  the  Chinese  merchants, 
but  among  the  Burmese,  the  mountaineers  and  the 
Europeans  in  this  cosmopolitan  city. 

After  long  years  of  waiting,  the  way  opened  at  last. 


266  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

An  abandoned  trade  route  was  reopened,  and  the  sec- 
ond caravan  from  Burmah  into  China  counted  among 
its  number  these  patient  travelers  from  the  west.  ISTo 
serious  vicissitudes  befell  them,  and  before  1880 
ended  they  arrived  safely  at  Ta-li,  the  second  city 
of  Yun-nan.  On  the  last  night  of  the  old  year, 
Messrs.  Stevenson  and  Soltau  had  a  watch-night  meet- 
ing together,  and  prayed  most  earnestly  for  workers 
to  come  and  labor,  not  only  for  the  men,  but  for  the 
women  also.  Little  did  they  dream  that  before  their 
petition  was  registered  on  high,  the  answer  was  al- 
ready being  prepared,  six  weeks'  journey  away,  in 
Kuei-yang. 

But  this  was  not  all.  The  missionaries  from  Bur- 
mah traveled  on  across  China,  taking  the  northern 
route  through  Si-ch'uan.  At  Chong-king  they  met  a 
man  who  owned  a  house  in  Ta-li  and  was  willing  to 
rent  to  them.  The  matter  was  referred  to  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, who  immediately  closed  with  the  offer.  The  deed 
of  rental  was  duly  forwarded  to  the  Clarkes  at  Kuei- 
yang  by  the  hand  of  the  brother  who  came  to  succeed 
Mr.  Clarke. 

Thus  it  came  about  that  in  the  spring  of  1881  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  George  Clarke  traveled  westward  to  the 
province  of  Yun-nan,  leaving  their  old  home  and  the 
little  grave,  no  doubt,  with  aching  hearts,  but  longing 
to  bring  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  people 
of  Yun-nan,  and  praying  that  their  sorrow  might  be 
the  means  of  bringing  joy  to  many  hearts.  Before 
mid-summer  thcv  had  reached  Ta-li. 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND.  267 

Their  new  home  was  delightfully  situated,  over- 
looking the  city  wall  and  enjoying  a  magnificent  pan- 
orama of  the  high  mountains  and  the  lake.  Unhap- 
pily, there  were  tenants  already  in  possession,  and 
they  apparently  considered  that  possession  was  nine 
points  of  the  law,  and  they  refused  to  move !  Great 
difficulty  was  caused,  moreover,  by  the  unfriendli- 
ness of  the  Eoman  Catholics,  who  hindered  Mr. 
Clarke  in  every  possible  way,  especially  by  spreading 
rumors  which  kept  alive  and  intensified  the  people's 
habitual  suspicion.  Continued  prayer  was  answered, 
however,  and  just  before  it  became  necessary  to  move 
from  their  first  house,  the  short  lease  of  six  months 
expiring,  one  of  the  literati  befriended  them  and 
rented  them  a  house  of  his  own,  in  which  they  were 
happily  settled  before  Christmas. 

The  new  place  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  old. 
Far  more  trying  to  the  missionaries  than  mere  per- 
sonal considerations  was  the  terrible  wickedness  of 
the  people.  It  seemed  to  them  that  they  had  come  to 
stay  in  a  modern  Sodom  or  Gomorrah. 

Xext  month  a  second  station  was  opened  in  this 
province,  at  the  capital,  Yun-nan.  From  this  point 
their  nearest  neighbors,  Mr.  Andrew  and  Mr.  Eason, 
visited  them  six  months  later.  What  a  joy  it  must 
have  been  to  welcome  fellow-workers  at  that  lonely, 
distant  post!  After  a  very  refreshing  time  of  fellow- 
ship together,  it  was  decided  that  the  two  younger 
brethren  should  remain  at  Ta-li  for  a  time,  exchang- 
ing places  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clarke,  who  went,  re- 


26S  THESE   FORTY    YEARS. 

garclless  of  inconvenience  and  danger,  to  occupy  tlie 
new  station  at  the  capital. 

3>ut  at  Yun-nan  nobody  would  have  anything  to 
do  with  them.  Their  landlord  wanted  them  to  leave, 
and  no  one  else  would  let  them  have  a  house.  The 
Catholics  were  cordially  hated  at  this  center;  and  for 
a  long  time  the  people  were  unable  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Clarke  was  any  different  from  the  Romanists. 
Mrs.  Clarke  had  no  visitors,  nor  could  she  secure  a 
servant,  but  had  to  do  everything  for  herself,  even 
do^vn  to  making  her  shoes.  At  this  juncture  a  bright 
idea  occurred  to  her,  and  she  began  distributing 
n) any-colored  picture  text-cards  among  the  children 
of  the  neighborhood,  who  soon  became  friendly,  and 
then  began  to  bring  their  mothers.  This  led  the  way 
to  calls  in  return,  and  so  the  ice  was  broken.  Mean- 
while, Mr.  Clarke  was  making  good  progress  amongst 
the  men,  preaching  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and 
selling  tracts  and  Scriptures. 

Very  glad,  indeed,  they  were,  however,  after  about 
a  year  at  the  capital,  to  return  to  their  ovtu  station, 
Ta-li,  where  the  beautiful  mountain  and  lake  scenery 
reminded  Mrs.  Clarke  of  her  own  loved  home  among 
the  Alps  of  Switzerland.  Toward  the  end  of  the 
summer  in  this  year,  1883,  another  little  son  was 
born  to  the  Clarkes,  very,  very  welcome  at  their 
distant,  lonely  home.  Happily,  Mrs.  Clarke  and  the 
little  one  did  well;  but  about  this  time,  Mr.  Clarke 
was  greatly  disturbed  by  a  vivid  dream  which  came 
to  him  twice,  to  the  effect  that  his  wife  and  himself 


THE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    GO    INLAND,  260 

were  to  be  parted  from  each  other.  Before  Mrs. 
darkens  convalescence  was  complete,  a  turn  for  the 
worse  took  place :  and  after  some  days  of  suffering,  on 
the  Yth  of  October,  she  passed  peacefully  home. 

During  the  last  hours,  Mr.  Clarke  told  her  some- 
thing of  what  those  years  of  happiness  had  meant  to 
him,  and  how  keenly  he  had  appreciated  the  courage 
and  devotion  which  had  never  flagged,  in  the  face 
of  such  journey ings  and  such  difficulties  as  she  had 
met,  year  after  year,  so  bravely.  "Xo,  do  not 

flatter  me,'^  she  whispered.  ^'I  am  the  least  of  all 
Christians.  I  feel  that  I  have  done  less  than  any 
woman  in  the  Mission." 

"Take  care  of  my  little  son,''  she  said  to  the  Chi- 
nese nurse.  And  when  the  sun  sank  low  that  quiet 
Sunday  evening,  flooding  the  room  with  golden  light, 
the  weary,  patient,  loyal  spirit  rested  in  the  arms  of 
Him  she  loved  so  well. 

A  letter,  with  inclosures,  came  for  her  next  day 

from  the  far-off  homeland;   and  in  her  lonely  grave, 

outside  the  south  gate  of  the  city,  she  was  laid  to  rest 

by  loving  hands,  with  fair  Swiss  flowers  upon  her 

breast. 

*  *  *  *  *  -5^  * 

Meanwhile,  other  lady  workers  had  been  entering 
the  newly-opened  provinces,  two  more  of  which  were 
opened  to  woman's  work  in  the  year  1881,  besides 
the  reinforcements  who  went  up  to  Kuei-yang. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1881,  the  courageous 
Miss  Wilson,  whom  we  have  followed  up  the  Han 


270  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

to  Han-cliong,  traveled  on  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George 
Parker  to  the  remote  province  of  Kan-suh,  in  the 
far  northwest.  Here  they  commenced  work  among 
the  women  of  Ts'in-chau;  work  which  has  continued 
ever  since,  (^ow,  1902,  Ts'in-chau  is  the  most  suc- 
cessful station  in  this  difficult  province.)  This  was 
in  January. 

In  December  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Henry  Hunt 
and  his  bride  went  up  to  the  province  of  Ho-nan,  and 
settled  in  the  important  prefectural  city  of  Ru-ning. 
They  were  not  able,  however,  to  stay  very  long;  for 
evil  rumors  were  circulated  about  them,  which  grew 
and  became  so  serious  that  it  was  necessary,  early 
in  the  following  year,  to  retrace  their  steps  to 
Han-kow.  -  U  f  i 

About  midsummer  of  the  year  1881,  also,  Mr. 
Broumton  and  his  wife  (formerly  Mrs.  William  Mc- 
Carthy) returned  to  the  capital  of  Kuei-chau,  taking 
with  them  ]\liss  Charlotte  Kerr,  and  traveling  again 
across  Hu-nan,  where,  as  before,  they  had  many  op- 
portunities of  preaching  to  the  women. 

Thus,  then,  in  little  more  than  three  years,  from 
October,  1878,  to  December,  1881,  lady  workers  had 
settled  in  six  of  the  newly-opened  provinces,  and  had 
traveled  and  evangelized  in  two  others,  Ho-nan  and 
Hu-nan.  Woman's  work  in  the  far  interior  was 

no  longer  in  the  experimental  stage.  It  had  proved 
practicable :  and  from  this  time  onward,  work  among 
the  women  went  forward,  in  every  part  of  the 
country,  'pari  passu  with  work  among  the  men. 


TtlE    FIRST    WOMEN    TO    00    INLAND.  271 

Tt  is  difficult  noAv^  when  the  work  is  so  well  estab- 
lished ill  every  part  of  the  country,  to  realize  how 
much  courage,  how  much  real  heroism  and  devotion 
it  required  to  take  these  long  journeys,  and  to  settle 
in  the  hostile,  heathen  citadels  of  the  far  interior. 


CHAPTER    XI I. 


AN   IDEAL   AnSSIONARY. 

Meanwhile,  there  had  arrived  in  China  a  new  misr- 
sionary  and  his  wife,  for  whose  coming  the  Mission 
and  the  cause  will  forever  be  richer. 

Dr.  Harold  Schofield  was  a  man  of  the  rarest  gifts 
— equally  talented  and  devoted  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 
During  his  medical  curriculum  at  Oxford,  in  London, 
and  on  the  continent,  he  had  achieved  the  highest 
success,  winning  in  scholarships  alone  more  than 
seven  thousand  dollars:  a  list  of  his  degrees  fills 
several  lines  of  type.  He  himself  was  greater  than 
his  degrees.  And  he  counted  it  gain  to  forsake 

all  and  follow  Jesus.  Urgently  pressed  by  many 
to  stay  at  home  and  make  the  most  of  his  brilliant 
opportunities,  he  felt  he  could  not,  he  must  go  where 
the  need  was  greatest. 

The  China  Inland  Mission  had  his  sympathy;  its 
one  aim  evangelization,  its  one  means  to  everything 
prayer,  were  entirely  to  his  mind.  He  was  heartily 
accepted  by  the  Coimcil;  and  in  May,  1880,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-nine,  he  and  his  bride — entirely  one 
with  him  in  heart  and  in  spirit — sailed  for  China. 
They  reached  Shanghai  at  the  end  of  June,  and  after 
a  brief  stay  went  on  to  Chefoo  for  the  summer  to  con- 
serve strength  while  they  worked  at  the  language. 

272 


AN    IDEAL    MISSIONARY.  273 

The  newly-opened  doors  in  the  far  interior,  the 
blessed  opportnnities  for  work  among  the  women, 
and  the  courage  and  devotion  of  those  early  pioneers, 
both  men  and  women,  were  cause  to  them  for  re- 
joicing and  thanksgiving.  They  rejoiced  in  the  good 
hand  of  God  upon  the  work,  and  felt  not  a  little  en- 
couraged at  the  outset.  The  difficulties,  the 
urgent  need  for  more  workers,  and  the  shortness  of 
funds  did  not  distress  them.  They  hnew  the  Lord 
would  pro^dde  what  was  needed  for  the  advancement 
of  His  own  great  ends. 

After  four  months'  study  at  the  language,  the  time 
came  to  go  inland;  and  they  set  out  for  the  central 
northern  province  of  Shan-si,  in  which  the  extensive 
famine  relief  work  had  resulted  in  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities. Their  destination,  T'ai-yuan,  the  capital,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  cities  in  ^NTorth  China.  To 
reach  it,  they  crossed  a  lofty  range  of  mountains, 
from  which  one  descends  gradually  to  the  plateau, 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  near  the  northern 
end  of  which  the  city  stands,  an  admirable  vantage 
point  for  widespread  influence. 

In  this  center  they  soon  commenced  their  twofold 
w^ork;  Dr.  Schofield  being  the  only  medical  man  in 
a  province  larger  than  England,  with  a  population 
of,  perhaps,  ten  million  souls.  His  heart's  desire 
had  been  to  labor  where  the  need  was  greatest. 
Surely,  it  was  gratified! 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Schofield  naturally  felt,  and  were 
not  alone  in  feeling,   the  need  for  more  workers. 

18 


274  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Especially  during  the  closing  months  of  this  year, 
1880,  prayer  was  going  np  thronghout  the  Mission 
for  reinforcements,  and  also  for  more  means  to  carry 
on  the  work. 

His  old  friends  would  perhaps  have  been  amused  to 
see  the  doctor  in  his  blue  cotton  gown  and  short  black, 
wide-sleeved  overcoat,  with  his  black  satin  shoes,  his 
shaven  head  and  plaited  queue:  but  the  man  had 
foimd  his  sphere.  Dr.  Schofield  was  entirely  satis- 
fied with  his  field  and  with  his  opportunity.  "To 
me  it  seems  unutterably  sad,''  he  wrote,  ''that  now, 
more  than  eighteen  hundred  years  after  the  ascend- 
ing Saviour  gave  His  great  commission  to  'go  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature,' 
there  should  be  hundreds  of  millions  in  this  vast  em- 
pire who  have  never  so  much  as  heard  of  Christ! 

"When  I  was  preparing  to  come  to  China  .  .  . 
some  of  my  best  friends  tried  to  dissuade  me,  on  the 
plea  that  there  was  so  much  to  be  done  at  home.  How 
much  I  wish  that  they,  and  all  who  use  this  argu- 
ment, could  live  here  for  awhile,  and  see  and  feel 
the  need  for  themselves.  They  would  then  be  dis- 
posed to  ask,  not  whether  I  had  a  special  call  to  go 
to  China,  but  whether  they  have  any  special  call  to 
remain  in  England." 

The  doctor's  principal  difficulty  during  the  year 
1881  was  to  obtain  sufficient  time  for  the  study  of 
the  language,  in  addition  to  his  medical  and  evan- 
gelistic duties.  Happily,  his  exceptional  gifts  stood 
him  in  good  stead,  and  he  made  rapid  progress;    at 


AN   IDEAL    MISSIONARY.  275 

the  same  time  carrying  on,  with  characteristic  enthu- 
siasm, his  double  service.  In  addition  to  tlie  work  of 
dispensary  and  hospital,  wliich  might  well  have  ab- 
sorbed his  time,  Dr.  Schofield  made  opportunities  for 
preaching  the  Gospel  throughout  the  city,  in  street, 
temple  and  teashop,  wherever  a  hearing  could  be 
gained. 

^^Did  I  tell  you,'^  one  wrote  of  him,  'Svhat  a  capital 
street  preacher  Dr.  Schofield  is  becoming?  I  often 
envy  him  the  power.  He  reiterates  a  truth  until 
some  one  takes  it  up  and  translates  it  into  the  local 
dialect,  which  is  very  different  from  the  mandarin." 

^'We  are  very  happy,"  he  wrote  himself  one  day, 
^'^nd  I  feel  more  thankful  every  day  for  the  privilege 
of  being  permitted  to  labor  for  the  Lord  where  the 
need  is  so  great." 

The  doctor  wisely  limited  liis  indoor  work  as  much 
as  possible  the  first  year,  treating  only  about  fifty 
in-patients,  but  thirty  times  as  many  out-patients. 
The  following  year,  however,  with  a  greatly  im- 
proved grasp  of  the  language,  the  doctor  was  able 
to  attempt  much  more,  and  both  in-  and  out-patients 
were  doubled.  The  opportunities  for  work  in  the 
surrounding  country  and  neighboring  towns,  which 
the  medical  work  created,  emphasized  the  need  of 
reinforcements,  for  which  Dr.  Schofield  daily  prayed, 
especially  during  1882. 

One  of  his  patients,  a  blind  man,  laboriously  made 
his  way  fifty  miles  to  the  capital.  It  took  him  half 
a  month.     First  one  eve  and  then  the  other  was 


276  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

operated  on  for  cataract,  and  with  restored  vision 
and  a  thankful  heart  the  man  returned,  reaching 
home  in  two  or  three  days.  It  was  the  keenest  pleas- 
ure to  the  doctor  to  be  able  to  relieve  so  much  suffer- 
ing, and  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  bear  for  the  first  time 
upon  so  many  lives. 

During  this  second  year,  1882,  thirty  cases  of  sui- 
cide came  under  treatment.  Of  these,  twenty-seven 
were  by  opium,  a  drug  which  has  cursed  Shan-si  per- 
haps as  much  as  any  province  in  China.  It  is  a  com- 
mon saying  among  the  people  that  "eleven  men  out  of 
every  ten"  habitually  use  the  drug.  "Another  year's 
experience,"  the  doctor  wrote,  ^'deepens  my  convic- 
tion that  opium  smoking  is  a  terrible  curse,  physi- 
cally, socially,  and  morally." 

The  work  soon  outgrew  the  original  premises.  And 
an  ever-widening  circle  of  influence  and  of  friends 
cheered  the  hearts  of  the  workers.  A  little  son  and 
daughter,  also,  came  to  perfect  the  happiness  of  their 
home. 

"The  good  doctor"  the  people  called  him.  He  was 
equally  beloved  and  trusted  by  missionaries  and 
people.  During  the  summer  of  1883  the  doctor  gave 
much  time  to  prayer,  pleading  particularly  for  rein- 
forcements and  for  greater  blessing  on  the  work. 
One  petition,  that  was  often  on  his  lips,  was  that 
God  would  touch  the  hearts  of  young  university  meUy 
and  cultured  and  gifted  women,  and  call  them  out 
into  this  needy  field,  where  there  was  such  ample 
scope   for  the  largest  and  most  varied  gifts.     He 


AN    IDEAL    MISSIONARY.  277 

prayed  for  them.    And  lie  felt,  and  trusted  God  that 
they  would  come.    And  they  did. 

Just  at  the  height  of  the  long,  hot  summer,  a 
patient  was  brought  to  see  the  doctor,  suffering  from 
virulent  diphtheria.  Reluctantly  the  doctor  declined 
to  keep  him  in  the  hospital,  for  the  sake  of  the  other 
patients.  Somehow  or  other  the  man  eluded  the 
gatekeeper,  and  hid,  and  remained  all  night,  in  a 
room  on  a  partly  unoccupied  courtyard.  In  the 
morning  the  doctor  was  called  to  see  him,  and  found 
him  dead.  A  few  days  later,  the  doctor  himself  was 
seriously  unwell;  and  before  long  the  temperature 
ran  up  high,  and  grave  symptoms  supervened.  Every- 
thing that  could  be  done  under  the  circumstances 
was  done.  His  constitution  was  good :  he  was  young 
and  vigorous.  "God  grant,"  they  cried,  ''that  he 
may  pull  through!'' 

The  beloved  physician's  own  prayer,  day  by  day, 
was  for  patience  and  that  the  will  of  God  might  be 
done.  For  a  long,  terrible  week  the  high  fever 

continued,  and  on  the  last  day  of  July  it  began  to 
run  still  higher,  to  106  degrees,  107  degrees,  lOS 
degrees,  and  in  the  small  hours  of  next  morning  he 
fell  asleep. 

"Has  the  good  doctor  gone?"  the  people  said. 
"Alas,  alas !"  Loving  farewell  he  sent  to  Mr. 

Taylor  and  the  Council  .  .  .  "Tell  them  these  three 
years  in  China  have  been  far  the  happiest  of  my 
life." 

It  may  be  that  through  the  story  of  his  life  and 


278  THESE   FORTY    TEAKS. 

its  crowning  years  of  service  in  Shan-si  the  Lord  will 
touch  the  heart  of  some  other  gifted  young  physi- 
cian, calling  hini^  or  her,  to  turn  from  the  pursuit 
of  earth's  emoluments  and  laurels,  to  win  ^'a  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away"  in  the  service  of  the 
Master,  in  a  land  that  has  no  doctors,  and  from 
which  has  been  held  back  the  knowledge  of  salvation 
for  nineteen  hundred  years.  Such  will  regret  it  as 
little  as  did  the  devoted  Harold  Schofield. 

Of  all  men  in  China,  no  one  is  so  w^elcome  and  so 
readily  received,  even  among  those  inclined  to  be 
hostile,  as  the  missionary-doctor.  He  has  the  blessed 
privilege  of  folloAving,  closely,  the  footsteps  of  Him 
who  went  everywhere,  ''preaching  the  Gospel  and 
healing  the  sick."  In  China,  to-day  (1902),  there  is 
but  one  medical  missionary  to  each  two  millions  of 
people. 

x\nd  no  work  is  more  remunerative  in  winning 
souls.  The  late  Dr.  McKenzie,  of  Tien-tsin,  operated 
''upon  the  eyes  of  two  girls  in  one  family,  and  gave 
them  sight,  and  then  the  mother  was  operated  on 
successfully.  She  had  never  seen  her  children,  and 
her  delight  and  gratitude  knew  no  bounds."  As  the 
result,  all  three  were  converted,  the  father  also,  and 
many  others,  and  a  successful  church  of  a  hundred 
or  more  is  now  to  be  found  in  their  village. 

Christ  commands  it.  Pity  demands  it.  And  ex- 
perience has  proved  its  use. 


CHAPTER   XII I. 


"other  seventy  also.'' 


As  we  have  seen,  about  the  time  that  Dr.  and  .Mrs. 
Schofield  went  inland  to  coninience  their  medical  mis- 
sion in  Shan-si,  much  prayer  went  up  to  God  for  rein- 
forcements, and  for  more  abundant  funds.  For  a 
time  it  almost  seemed  as  if  no  answer  came.  Far 
from  losing  heart,  however,  a  spirit  of  intercession 
seemed  to  rest  upon  the  missionaries,  and  still  more 
earnest  prayer  ascended  the  following  fall.  A  special 
meeting  was  called  at  Wu-ch'ang,  central  China,  for 
the  purpose  of  waiting  upon  (^od.  As  nuiny  mem- 
bers of  the  Mission  as  practicable  were  invited  for 
several  days  of  prayer  and  conference. 

At  that  time  about  a  hundred  members  of  the 
Mission  were  working  in  seventy  stations  and  out- 
stations.  Laborers,  women  as  well  as  men,  had  set- 
tled in  the  far  interior,  but  there  was  yet  very  much 
land  to  be  possessed;  and  open  doors,  never  open  be- 
fore, were  inviting  the  Church  to  obey  her  Lord's  last 
command  and  evangelize  the  nations. 

It  was  a  strange  contrast  at  Wu-ch'ang— that  un- 
mense  heathen  city,  the  seat  of  the  ^dceroy  of  the 
two  central  provinces,  Hu-peh  and  Hu-nan,  with  its 
busy  life,  its  commerce,  its  gayety,  its  idol  worship 
and  all  its  miserv  and  degradation  on  the  one  hand: 

1^79 


280  THESE    FORTY    YEAllS. 

and  that  company  of  men  and  women,  few  and  un- 
known, with  no  strength  or  might  whatever  but  the 
strength  which  comes  from  knowing  God!  There 

they  gathered,  and  prayed,  and  took  counsel  together 
before  the  Lord.    What  would  He  have  them  to  do? 

Through  His  blessing  every  effort  of  the  Mission 
thus  far  had  been  crowned  with  success.  The  work 
of  unordained  missionaries  and  of  lady  evangelists 
had  been  sealed  wdth  approval  and  blessing  from  the 
King  of  kings.  Souls  had  been  won  and  churches 
founded  in  many  scattered  centers  through  the  coun- 
try; but  what  had  been  done  was  as  nothing  to  the 
work  that  remained.  What  were  six  hundred  Prot- 
estant missionaries,  all  told,  including  the  little  band 
of  a  hundred  or  more  in  the  China  Inland  Mission,  to 
four  hundred  millions  of  proud,  superstitious,  bigoted 
heathen?  Surely  the  Lord  was  purposing  to  do 
greater  things  than  these !  Very  earnestly  they  asked 
the  Lord,  "What  woiildst  Thou  have  us  to  do?'' 

The  needs  of  each  province  and  of  each  station 
were  considered  in  detail:  two  were  urgently  needed 
here  to  reinforce  a  work  that  had  been  specially 
prospered ;  four  were  needed  there  in  a  distant  prov- 
ince to  open  two  new  stations;  a  married  couple  were 
required  to  relieve  two  workers  who  had  grown  weary 
through  the  climate  and  the  multitudes  of  sin-sick 
souls  that  crowded  round  to  listen.  One  by  one  the 
opportunities  and  opening's  were  carefully  considered ; 
and  the  conclusions  arrived  at,  after  much  prayer  and 
waiting  upon  God,  were  recorded  by  the  secretary. 


<^r.rrTT^.^T>        0^,r..,.r r„..     ?? 


OTHER    SEVENTY    ALSO.  '  281 

When  they  added  up  the  long  list,  it  appeared  that 
seventy  new  workers  were  urgently  needed. 

But  what  could  they  do?  For  some  years  funds 
had  been  low  and  suitable  missionary  candidates  few 
and  far  between.  Certainly  there  were  difficulties, 
probably  more  tlian  immediately  appeared;  but  two 
things  were  certain:  one,  that  they  had  been 
earnestly  waiting  on  God  for  guidance  with  reference 
to  His  work  entrusted  to  them;  and  tlie  other,  that 
they  had  felt  unanimously  guided  of  Him  to  3esire 
these  reinforcements.  They  had  asked  God  to  mak<' 
His  will  clear,  to  show  them  what  to  pray  for;  and  if 
they  had  been  guided  of  Him,  as  they  believed,  they 
might  with  all  confidence  pray  for  the  seventy 
workers  needed,  assured  that  He  Who  had  prompted 
the  prayer  would  also  grant  the  petition.  It  would 
not  be  possible,  however,  with  their  present  equip- 
ment— with  the  then  existing  premises  and  statt' — to 
receive  and  train  and  escort  to  their  various  stations 
so  large  a  nmnber  at  once.  They  prayed,  therefore, 
with  this  in  mind,  that  the  Lord  would  graciously 
send  the  seventy  within  three  years — 1882,  1883, 
1884.  Funds  were  short,  applicants  were  few,  but 
God  Almighty,  the  hearer  and  answerer  of  prayer, 
was  with  them,  and  on  Xovember  25,  1881,  they 
spread  out  their  list  and  their  petition  before  th(» 
Lord  with  one  mind  and  one  heart. 

An  appeal  was  then  drawn  up  and  forwarded  to 
each  member  of  the  Mission  for  prayerful  considera- 
tion, and,  if  they  cordially  approved,  for  signature. 


282  THESE  FOETY  YEARS. 

After  referring  to  the  terrible  needs  of  China,  so  well 
known  on  the  field,  and  to  the  awful  famine  in  the 
north  in  which  so  many  had  perished  for  lack  of  the 
earthly  bread,  it  went  on  to  say :  "Provinces  in  China 
compare  in  area  with  kingdoms  in  Europe.  .  .  .  One 
province  has  no  missionary,  another  has  only  one,  an 
umnarried  man ;  in  each  of  two  other  provinces  only 
one  missionary  and  his  wife  are  resident,  and  none 
are  sufficiently  supplied  with  laborers.  Can  we  leave 
matters  thus  without  incurring  the  sin  of  bloodguilti- 
ness?'' 

It  then  went  on  to  invite  the  Church  of  God  at 
home  to  join  in  '^fervent,  effectual  prayer"  for  more 
workers  for  every  Society,  of  the  Old  World  or  New, 
which  was  working  in  China ;  and  for  the  China  In- 
land Mission  forty-two  men  and  twenty-eight  women 
to  continue  and  enlarge  the  work. 

"We  are  not  anxious  as  to  means  for  sending  them 
forth  or  sustaining  them.  He  has  told  us  to  look  at 
the  birds  and  the  flowers,  and  to  take  no  thought  for 
these  things.  .  .  .  But  we  are  concerned  that  only 
men  and  women  called  of  God,  fully  consecrated  .  .  . 
should  come  out  to  join  us."  Seventy-seven  members 
of  the  Mission  joined  in  this  appeal,  which  Was  sent 
home  for  publication  in  China^s  Millions  and  other 
suitable  papers. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  answer  began  to  come. 
Early  next  year  the  first  party  of  the  seventy  arrived, 
and  slowly  others  followed.  Funds,  however,  con- 
tinued to  be  short,  and  toward  the  end  of  this  year 


«/^^r,TTT7^T»       o-r,TT-r,T.Tmxr        »  t  o^    ?> 


OTHER    SEVENTY   ALSO."  283 

1882  a  good  many  in  the  homeland  began  to  be  trou- 
bled about  the  whole  matter,  wondering  whether  the 
time  had  really  come  for  such  advance.  Was  the 
thing  of  God,  after  all? 

Hearing  of  this  feeling,  a  little  group  of  workers 
at  Chefoo  joined  Mr.  Taylor  about  the  end  of  Janu- 
ary or  beginning  of  February,  in  special  prayer. 
"We  knew,"  said  Mr.  Taylor,  "^that  our  Father  loves 
to  please  His  children.  AVhat  father  does  not?  And 
we  asked  Him  lovingly  to  please  us,  as  well  as  en- 
courage the  timid  ones,  by  leading  one  of  His 
wealthy  stewards  to  make  room  for  a  large  blessing 
for  himself  and  his  family  by  giving  liberally  for 
this  special  object."  Of  this  little  private  meeting  at 
Chefoo  no  record  was  kept  and  no  word  sent  home: 
or,  if  any,  it  was  telegraphed  home  by  way  of  the 
central  station  before  the  throne  of  God. 

On  February  2nd  there  was  sent  in,  mthout  any 
name,  about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  this  purpose. 
It  was  sent  with  these  details  written  under  the  text 
beginning,  "Ask  of  Me  and  I  shall  give  thee:" 

Father £1,000 

Mother 1,000 

Mary 200 

Rosie 200 

Bertie 200 

Amy 200 

Heni-y 200 

£3,000 


284  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

*^I^otice  how  liberally  God  had  fulfilled  our  prayer 
and  led  His  servant  to  make  room  for  a  large  blessing 
for  himself  and  his  family.  ISTever  before  had  a 
donation  been  received  and  acknowledged  in  this 
way.  A  beautiful  instance  of  a  loving  father  who 
seeks  that  his  children  shall  have  treasure  in  heaven!" 

Gift  after  gift  of  funds  came  in,  and  far  more  im- 
portant, "willing,  skillful  workers"  offered,  were 
tested  and  selected  and  sent  forth  to  the  field.  "We 
had  prayed  in  faith,"  wrote  Mr.  Taylor,  "and  made 
our  boast  in  God.  When  the  time  elapsed,  were  we 
put  to  shame?  ISTay,  verily!"  This,  and  more  also, 
God  did  for  us.  "Exceeding  abundantly,  above  all 
that  ye  ask,"  is  His  way  of  answering  believing 
prayer.  During  the  three  years,  1882-84,  seventy- 
six  workers  arrived  in  China,  and  yet  others  were 
accepted,  whose  outgoing  was  delayed  on  account  of 
the  Franco-Chinese  War. 

'Not  only  were  the  workers  sent;  but  they  were  the 
very  kind  of  workers  that  had  been  asked.  Among 
them  were  three  medical  men  and  not  a  few  others 
who  have  become  prominent  members  of  the  Mis- 
sion. The  last  party  included  Miss  Murray  and  her 
sister,  who  have  rendered  such  invaluable  service  in 
the  Training  Home  at  Yang-chau,  and  several  of  the 
leaders  in  a  new  venture  of  faith  among  the  women 
of  China. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


A   NEW    SPHERE    FOR   WOMAN. 

Thus  far,  woman's  work  in  China  had  been  con- 
siderably restricted.  In  every  sphere  of  service 
it  is  important  to  consider  the  prejudices  of  the 
people;  and  in  the  Orient  every  young  woman  is 
married,  almost  without  exception;  and  women  under 
forty,  except  among  the  poorest  classes,  are  seldom, 
if  ever,  seen  outside  their  husbands'  homes.  The 
people  in  the  interior  seldom  travel  far,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  relatively  small  classes  of  road  coolies, 
merchants  and  mandarins;  and  among  those  who  do 
travel,  only  the  officials  usually  take  their  ladies  with 
them. 

If  the  coming,  then,  of  the  missionaries'  wives 
seems  strange,  how  much  stranger  must  be  the  ar- 
rival of  young  unmarried  women!  The  fact  is,  the 
whole  system  of  Christianity  is  strange  and  novel  in 
China.  The  conduct  of  the  missionaries,  all  of  them, 
in  coming  so  far  from  home,  -with  no  tangible  object 
(as  it  seems  to  many),  provokes  surprise.  But  it  is 
only  a  nine  days'  wonder,  after  all,  and  there  are  no 
people  more  ready  and  more  accustomed  to  acknowl- 
edge unaccountable  facts  than  the  Chinese. 

The  early  years  of  the  Mission's  history  had  proved 
that  single  ladies  could  do  a  blessed  work  among  the 

285 


286  THESE   EORTY   YEARS. 

women,  from  which  the  hands  of  married  women 
were  partly  hindered  by  the  claims  of  home  and 
family.  Moreover,  women  in  China  have  a  position 
which  it  is  not  very  easy  for  a  foreigner  to  under- 
stand. Being  the  weaker,  they  too  often  go  to  the 
wall,  as  in  every  heathen  eoimtry  in  the  world;  and 
where  they  have  no  strong  relatives  to  defend  them, 
the  younger  women  especially  often  suffer  unspeak- 
ably. And  yet,  woman  has  a  place  and  a  power  in 
China  which  is  not  accorded  her  in  any  other  non- 
Christian  land.  In  the  first  place,  the  very  seclusion 
of  the  women  in  their  homes,  among  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  people,  is  a  protection;  a  protection,  the 
need  for  which  it  is  hardly  possible  to  estimate  away 
from  heathen  surroundings.  Then,  again,  the  mother 
of  a  family,  especially  the  mother  of  sons,  will  be 
the  object  of  worship  after  death  to  the  children, 
equally  with  their  father.  And  while  she  lives  she 
is  respected,  and  consulted  about  many  things  that 
concern  the  home.  Indeed,  in  many  cases  where  the 
wife  shows  any  degree  of  ability,  the  affairs  of  the 
household  are  left  largely  to  her  control.  Thus  are 
developed  characteristics  of  self-reliance  and  of 
power  which  would  command  respect  in  any  land. 

When,  then,  into  the  homes  of  the  people  young 
missionary  women  enter,  with  hearts  full  of  love,  the 
bearers  of  tidings  of  incredible  gladness  and  comfort 
to  these  isolated  lives,  their  kindliness,  their  help- 
fulness, their  manifest  sincerity  soon  win  a  place  in 
the  esteem  of  the  community. 


A    NEW    SPHERE    FOR    WOMAN.  28? 

In  the  spring  of  1886,  Mr.  Taylor,  accompanied 
by  Miss  Murray,  her  sister,  and  one  or  two  others, 
took  a  memorable  journey  through  two  provinces. 
Starting  from  Hang-chau,  they  journeyed  across 
the  Cheh-kiang  province,  over  tlie  mountains  into 
Kiang-si,  and  down  the  Kuang-sin  river  to  Kiu-kiang, 
a  populous  port  on  the  Yang-tse. 

Before  we  trace  their  journey,  let  us  look  back  a 
decade;  for  work  had  been  started  among  those 
mountains  and  along  the  Kuang-sin  river,  in  a  deeply 
interesting  way.  In  1875,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Douthwaite 
commenced  a  medical  mission  in  the  city  of  Kiu-chau, 
Cheh-kiang,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  Its  fame 
soon  spread  abroad:  and  from  near  and  far  the  pa- 
tients came,  hearing,  of  course,  the  Gospel  from  the 
doctor  and  his  assistants. 

That  same  year,  in  the  neigliboring  city  of  Kin- 
hwa.  Dr.  Douthwaite  met  a  remarkable  man:  a 
captain  in  the  army  during  the  T'ai-p'ing  rebellion, 
lie  had  become  a  Buddhist  devotee,  and  for  years  had 
been  preaching  the  tenets  of  a  reformed  Buddhist 
sect.  Traveling  extensively,  and  taking  neither 
money  nor  provisions  for  the  way,  this  man  had 
preached  his  "new  religion,"  and  hundreds,  and  in- 
deed, thousands  had  joined  the  ranks.  Earnest,  gen- 
tlemanly, fearless,  his  influence  was  felt  wherever  he 
went.  In  him  Dr.  Douthwaite  found  at  once  an  eager 
listener,  and  soon  a  true  believer.  Next  year  the  man 
applied  for  baptism,  saying:  "I  believe  what  you  tell 
me  of  the  God  of  Heaven  is  true,  and  that  all  my 


288  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

preacHing  for  twenty  years  has  been  in  vain.  I 

have  led  hundreds  on  the  ^vrong  road,  and  now  I  want 
to  lead  them  in  the  way  of  Truth.  Let  me  go  out  to 
preach.  I  ask  no  wages.  I  want  no  money.  I  only 
seek  to  serve  the  Lord  Jesus." 

The  doctor  bade  him  Godspeed,  and  sent  him  out 
into  Kiang-si.  Two  weeks  later  he  returned  with  a 
jovial  looking  farmer,  named  Liang,  who  exclaimed, 
as  he  met  the  missionary,  "I  have  been  seeking  the 
Truth  for  forty  years,  and  only  now  have  found  it — 
found  it  through  you." 

He  wanted  to  be  baptized  at  once.  Delay  and 
further  teaching  were  advised,  as  usual,  but  the  old 
man  would  take  no  denial.  He  was  old.  Who 
knew?  He  might  never  be  able  to  come  again.  ^^Ko, 
teacher,"  he  said,  ^'1  am  ready.  I  believe  everything 
vou  say,  and  there  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  be 
baptized."  "I  did  not  see  any  reason  myself,"  wrote 
Dr.  Douthwaite,  "so  I  baptized  him,  and  he  went 
home  rejoicing  in  his  new-found  Friend."  Ere 

long  he  returned  with  six  or  seven  neighbors,  who 
had  given  up  idolatry,  and  accepted  Christ  through 
his  means;  and  later,  nine  others  were  brought  in 
through  them. 

Little  companies  of  Christians  were  gathered  in 
this  way  through  the  work  of  Captain  Yu.  He  car- 
ried his  own  bed,  as  many  do  in  China,  and  preached 
the  Gospel  wlierever  he  could  gain  a  hearing.  One 
day  a  young  farmer,  walking  with  him  toward  Yuh- 
shan,  kindly  offered  to  carry  the  old  man's  bundle  for 


A    NEW    SPHERE    FOR   WOMAN.  289 

a  spell.  In  return,  the  old  Christian  told  him  the 
Glad  Tidings  and  gave  him  a  'New  Testament,  nrging 
him  to  read  it.  ^'Young  Tung  went  home  some 
tv/enty  miles  to  Ta-yang,  fully  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  the  Gospel,  and  straightway  began  to  preach  him- 
self. Wlien  I  visited  him  tliere,  nine  months  later, 
1  found  that  every  man  and  woman  in  the  village 
had  heard  the  Gospel,  and  for  thirty  miles  around 
many  of  the  peasants  had  also  been  reached." 

The  young  man's  brother  was  about  to  be  married, 
and  both  his  family  and  the  bride's  desired  a  Chris- 
tian wedding.  Dr.  Douthwaite  accordingly  married 
them — the  first  Christian  wedding  in  that  province, 
probably.  Next  year  Dr.  Douthwaite  had  the  joy 
of  baptizing  fifteen  in  that  village. 

Thus  the  good  work  was  started  around  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Kuang-sin  river,  and  continued  to  grow 
during  the  years  whicli  followed,  a  chapel  being 
rented  meanwhile  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Yuh-shan, 
to  which  a  resident  native  missionary  was  duly  ap- 
pointed. By  the  year  1885  there  were  fifty  con- 
verts connected  with  this  little  church,  but  still  no 
foreign  worker. 

Before  this  time.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Douthwaite  had 
been  transferred  to  the  increasingly  important  center 
at  Chefoo,  where  the  medical  work  and  his  wise  judg- 
ment and  true  spirituality  made  him  a  power  for 
good.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Thompson  took  charge 
of  the  Kiu-chau  work  in  1885,  and  they  were  joined 
in  the  fall  by  two  of  the  last  party  of  the  seventy, 

19 


290  THESE    FORTY    YEARS 

Miss  Mackintosh  and  Miss  Gibson.  Here  tlie  ladies 
continued  their  study  of  the  language,  having  been 
out  less  than  a  year;  and  spent  half  their  tiine,  as  is 
the  custom  in  the  Mission,  in  the  native  work,  visit- 
ing the  homes  of  the  women  and  carrying  on  a  school 
for  the  girls. 

After  some  months  of  study  and  work,  Miss  Gibson 
Avas  feeling  considerably  wearied  and  not  very  well, 
and  was  recommended  to  go  away  for  a  week's  rest 
to  the  beautiful  out-station  of  Ch'ang-shan,  among 
the  mountains. 

She  went,  and  was  welcomed  by  a  dozen  native 
Christians,  all  men,  who  were  delighted  that  their 
station  should  have  a  visit  from  a  lady  missionary; 
for  they,  poor  fellows,  had  been  having  an  excep- 
tionally difficult  tune.  J^ot  a  single  woman  had  been 
converted,  and  if  they  attempted  to  pray  in  their 
OA\m  homes,  their  wives  made  so  much  fun  and  so 
much  noise  that  prayer  was  utterly  impossible.  Eeal- 
izing  that  seasons  of  prayer  were  indispensable  to 
their  Christian  life,  the  men  took  counsel  together, 
and  hired  a  little  place  where  they  could  be  alone 
with  God,  and  might  meet  for  worship  on  Sundays. 
They  had  argued  with  their  wives;  they  had  used 
every  means  they  could  think  of  to  win  them  to  the 
Saviour,  but  without  avail.  The  women  would  have 
"none  of  their  nonsense.'' 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  Miss  Gibson  had 
arrived,  curiosity,  a  leading  characteristic  of  most 
Chinese  women,  got  the  better  of  hostility,  and  they 


A    NEW    SPHEKE    FOR    WOMAN.  201 

came  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  solitary  foreigner. 
Xo  detail  of  Miss  Gibson's  appearance  or  dress  es- 
caped their  scrutiny.  After  all  the  curious  (juestionB 
were  answered,  Miss  Gibson  of  course  improved  the 
occasion  by  telling  them  of  One  they  ought  to  know, 
One  Who  had  brought  a  message  of  comfort  and 
peace  and  joy,  which  should  gladden  the  hearts  of 
women  all  over  the  world.  Tenderly  and  lovingly 
she  preached  to  them  Jesus. 

It  sounded  strangely  different,  this  story-  which 
their  husbands  had  told  them  in  fragments,  but  which 
now  a  sister  told  them  so  gently  and  with  such  mani- 
fest sympathy  and  kindness.  Their  hearts  went  out 
to  the  lonely  worker  and  they  did  their  best  to  make 
her  feel  at  home.  "You  will  not  be  lonely,"  they 
said.  "We  will  take  care  that  you  shall  not  l>e  lonely 
as  long  as  you  stay  with  us." 

And  they  did.  Evening  came  on  and  still  her  vis- 
itors remained.  She  talked  with  them  as  long  as  she 
had  strength,  and  then  suggested  that  perhaps  it  was 
time  for  them  to  go  home.  But  no;  their  husbands 
knew  where  they  were,  and  would  not  be  anxious.  Tt 
was  all  right.  They  were  in  no  hurry.  And  finally 
Miss  Gibson  had  to  retire  from  sheer  exhaustion  with 
them  still  in  her  room,  and  laughingly  said,  as  she 
blew  out  the  light:  "IS^ow  you  cannot  see  me  any 
more.  You  had  better  go  home  and  come  again  to- 
morrow, when  I  will  tell  you  more  about  Jesus,  the 
Friend  of  all  who  need  Him."  And  laughing,  they 
went  awav. 


292  THESE    FORTY    YEAR9 

Early  next  morning  they  came,  sure  enough.  Day 
after  day  Miss  Gibson  was  kept  busy  from  morning 
till  night  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  women  of 
Ch'ang-shan.  She  was  sent  there  for  change  and  rest. 
Change  she  certainly  had:  but  the  only  rest  she  ob- 
tained was  the  heart  rest  of  knowing  that  these 
women  were  now  receiving,  and  many  of  them  gladly 
receiving,  the  good  tidings  of  eternal  life. 

When  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  party,  after  crossing 
Cheh-kiang,  reached  this  district,  they  were  joined 
at  Kiu-chau  by  Miss  Mackintosh  and  Miss  Gibson. 
After  a  brief  stay,  the  journey  was  continued,  and 
the  first  out-station  they  came  to  was  this  Ch'ang- 
shan. 

Here  the  Christians  gathered  around  Mr.  Taylor. 
(It  was  some  weeks  after  Miss  Gibson's  visit.)  And 
there  gathered  an  equal  number  of  women  and  of 
men.  On  previous  visits  men  only  had  welcomed  the 
missionary:  now  they  and  their  wives  seemed  equally 
eager  to  greet  him!  ^Tf,"  said  the  men  to  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, "the  visit  of  a  woman  missionary  among  us  for  a 
single  week  can  bring  about  such  a  change  as  this, 
what  would  not  result  if  we  had  such  a  missionary  all 
to  ourselves!" 

They  wanted  Mr.  Taylor  to  assign  them  a  worker 
at  once.  This  was  more  than  he  could  promise.  Such 
a  thing  had  never  been  heard  of  as  single  ladies  going 
alone  to  take  charge  of  a  station  in  China.  Finding 
that  Mr.  Taylor  could  not  promise  them  a  worker 
right   away,  still    they    pleaded,     "Well,  will     you 


A    NEW    SPHERE    FOR    WOMAN.  293 

praj?"  and  Mr.  Taylor  gave  tlieiii  his  word  that  he 
would. 

Farther  on,  over  the  border,  the  party  of  mission- 
aries found  the  little  church  at  Yuh-shan  in  a  very 
feeble  and  unsatisfactory  condition.  Still  farther,  as 
they  traveled  do^vn  the  Kuang-sin  river,  they  found  a 
little  group  of  inquirers  none  of  whom  had  been  bap- 
tized, and  nothing  whatever  had  been  done  for  the 
women.  At  the  city  of  Ih-yang  their  hearts  went  out 
to  the  crowds  of  people  without  the  Light,  and  they 
prayed  God  to  open  a  station  there.  Still  lower,  at 
Kwei-k'i,  they  were  present  at  the  baptism  of  the  first 
convert,  but  here  also  nothing  had  been  attempted 
for  the  women.  Here  and  there  were  little  compa- 
nies of  Christians,  but  they  were  as  sheep  "without  a 
shepherd;  and  millions  of  souls  all  around  were  still 
waiting  for  the  Tidings  which  had  been  their  birth- 
right for  many  centuries. 

There  were  no  men  available  to  take  up  this  work. 
There  were  a  few  women,  lliss  Gibson  had  been 
prospered  of  the  Lord  during  her  visit  at  Ch'ang- 
shan;  why  should  not  similar  and  longer  visits  of 
lady  workers  be  equally  blessed  in  winning  souls? 
After  much  thought  and  prayer,  it  was  determined 
to  make  the  experiment.  And  very  earnestly  were 
these  brave  pioneers  commended  to  the  safe-keeping 
of  Him  Who  never  slumbers  nor  sleeps.  IsTative  pas- 
tors, trained  and  ready  for  the  work,  were  sent  out 
with  them.  Miss  Mackintosh  was  appointed  to  work 
at  and  around  Yuh-shan,  and  three  other  ladies  also 


20-4  THESE    FORTY    YEARS 

M-ent  forward  to  this  work — Miss  Webb  and  Miss 
Gray  to  the  lower  reaches  of  the  river,  and  Miss 
Byron  to  Ch'ang-shan. 

It  must  have  been  a  touching  sight  to  see  these 
four  workers  starting  out  from  Kiu-kiang  on  a  little 
native  houseboat  on  their  untried  way.  Brave  hearts 
and  full  of  faith  they  must  have  had  to  do  it! 

Very  conspicuously  did  the  blessing  of  God  rest 
upon  the  labors  of  these  women  and  others  who  fol- 
lowed. Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  has  often  said  that,  to 
his  mind,  no  station  in  the  Mission  is  more  entirely 
satisfactory  than  one  of  the  'ladies'  stations"  that 
were  opened  the  next  few  years  along  the  Kuang-sin 
river. 

The  work  was  carried  on  by  lady  evangelists  and 
native  pastors,  and  by  that  very  fact  the  Christian 
men  were  all  the  more  developed.  What  the  women 
missionaries  could  not  and  would  not  do,  they  must. 
More  than  in  most  stations  the  strength  of  the  native 
churches  was  developed  and  a  blessed  work  of  God 
went  forward  through  that  region.  The  work  at 
Kwei-k'i  has  grown  until  now  the  parent  station  is 
surrounded  by  twenty  or  more  daughter  churches  in 
neighboring  villages  and  towns,  vigorous  out-stations 
worked  almost  entirely  by  unpaid  native  helpers. 
And  most  of  the  chapels  have  been  provided  by  the 
native  Christians  unaided. 

This  matter  of  an  efficient  native  agency  has  long 
been  recognized  as  the  central  problem  in  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  great  heathen  nations.    And  in  this 


A    NEW    SPHEEE    FOR    WOMAN.  296 

way,  somewhat  unexpectedly,  it  received  one  of  its 
solutions. 

It  was  mid-summer,  1886,  when  these  four  ladies 
started  across  the  Po-yang  lake  and  up  the  Kuang-sin 
river  to  their  new  sphere  of  service.  For  some 
months  Miss  Mackintosh  worked  in  the  district 
around  Yuh-shan,  traveling  and  visiting  the  homes 
of  the  Christians  and  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the 
women  Avherever  she  went,  while  native  helpers 
worked  among  the  men;  and  it  was  not  until  Janu- 
ary of  the  folloAving  year,  1887,  that  she  obtained  a 
settled  home  in  Yuh-shan. 

Two  or  three  months  later,  in  the  spring.  Miss 
Gibson  was  stationed  at  Ho-k'eo,  and  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor's  daughter.  Miss  M.  H.  Taylor,  settled  at 
Kwei-k'i.  Miss  Webb  and  Miss  Gray,  on  their  first 
arrival,  also  lived  chiefly  in  boats  and  traveled 
widely.  What  difficulties  they  had  to  face!  What 
crowds  gathered  round  them!  "Are  they  really 
women?''  was  a  question  often  asked.  Mute  with 
terror,  one  villager  vanished  into  her  house  on  seeing 
them,  and  returned  with  an  old  woman,  wild-eyed 
and  rake  in  hand,  to  meet  any  possible  attack. 

Often  friendly  women  would  escort  them  from 
house  to  house  as  they  Avent  about  their  blessed  busi- 
ness, saying  eagerly  as  they  introduced  them  to  fresh 
groups  of  listeners,  "Tell  them  too.  Tell  them 
too."  "They  always  listen  so  anxiously,"  Miss 

Webb  says,  "to  know  if  the  good  news  is  really  for 
them."  Difficulties  there  Avere  indeed,  many 


296  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

and  great,  but  the  Lord  was  with  the  workers.  And 
He  conquers  all. 

A  worker  from  another  part  of  China,  visiting  the 
station  at  Yuh-shan  some  two  or  three  years  later, 
wrote  enthusiastically  of  the  work,  and  was  greatly 
refreshed  in  spirit  by  her  fellowship  with  the  Chris- 
tians, who  now  numbered  more  than  a  hundred — 
every  one  of  them  intimately  known  by  the  frail  but 
indefatigable  Miss  Mackintosh.  The  visitor  was 
greatly  pleased,  also,  with  the  perfect  sympathy 
which  evidently  existed  between  the  missionary  and 
the  pastor,  Mr.  Chang. 

"I  never  do  anything  without  consulting  him,"  she 
said,  "and  the  consequence  is  that  he  is  equally  open 
with  me,  and  we  share  all  the  burdens  together.  The 
people  are  aware  of  this.  They  know  he  tells  me 
everything  and  that  I  always  seek  his  advice,  what- 
ever the  question  may  be.'' 

'New  converts  were  added  to  the  churches,  and  new 
circles  entered  year  by  year;  and  the  work  has  con- 
tinued to  groAv  ever  since.  That  chain  of  women's 
stations  has  long  passed  the  stage  of  experiment,  and 
now,  not  only  in  Kiang-si,  but  in  many  other  prov- 
inces, are  to  be  found  settled  stations  under  the  care 
of  lady  workers,  assisted  by  native  pastors,  who  take 
the  lead  in  all  the  meetings  of  the  church,  while  the 
sisters  labor  and  pray  continually  for  the  blessing  of 
God  on  the  pastors,  on  their  wives  and  on  the  work. 
Periodical  visits  are  paid  to  all  these  stations  by  the 
Superintendent  of  the  province,  and  to  his  judgment 


A    NEW    SPHERE    FOE    WOMAN.  297 

all  questions  of  difficulty  are  referred.  Within  the 
last  two  or  three  years  a  married  missionary  has  been 
located  at  one  of  the  principal  Kuang-sin  stations. 

Is  there  any  country  in  the  world  with  a  greater 
field  for  consecrated  women,  or  a  greater  need,  than 
China? 


CHAP  TEE  XY. 


ANOTHER  ANSWER  TO  PRAYER. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  years  1882,  1883  and  1884 
witnessed  the  answer  to  definite  united  prayer  in  the 
outgoing  of  more  than  seventy  workers  in  the  China 
Inland  Mission,  and  that,  in  addition  to  those  who 
went,  there  were  others  accepted  but  kept  back  for  a 
season  by  the  Franco-Chinese  War. 

Among  the  latter  were  seven  young  men,  whose 
departure  for  China  attracted  more  than  usual  in- 
terest. This  was  called  forth,  not  so  much  by  the 
work  they  went  to  do,  as  by  the  men  that  went  to 
do  it.  The  two  leaders  were  widely  kno^vn  through- 
out the  British  Isles  as  men  of  physical  prowess: 
Stanley  Smith  having  been  the  stroke  oar  of  the  Cam- 
bridge eight,  and  Charles  Studd  not  only  the  captain 
cricketer  of  the  Cambridge  eleven,  but  also,  perhaps, 
the  finest  gentleman  bowler  in  the  world.  Five  of  the 
seven,  including  these,  were  graduates  of  Cambridge, 
and  the  remaining  two  were  officers  in  crack  regi- 
ments, the  "Royal  Artillery"  and  '^Dragoon  Guards.^' 
Their  outgoing  naturally  attracted  attention,  espe- 
cially that  of  young  university  students,  to  whom  the 
names  of  Stanley  Smith  and  Charlie  Studd  were  as 
household  words. 

But  for  tliosc  wlio  know  them,  they  had  another 
298 


ANOTHEi;    .VN.SWKi:    Tu    l'J{AVi;i;.  ■2\)[) 

aud  a  greater  attraction.  They  were  men  of  spiritual 
power,  and  relied  upon  the  guidance  and  the  blessing 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  all  they  said  and  did,  and  their  re- 
nunciation of  home  and  the  brilliant  prospects  around 
them,  to  go  and  ''bury  themselves"  in  the  heart  of 
China,  among  an  uncultured,  unsympathetic  and,  in- 
deed, hostile  heathen  people,  Avas  but  part  of  the 
whole — an  entire  personal  devotion  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  Himself,  which  led  them  to  desire,  above 
all  things,  to  do  His  will,  and  to  gratify  the  longings 
of  His  heart. 

Their  farewell  meeting  in  London  crowded  one  of 
its  largest  halls :  and  one  who  was  present  wrote,  after 
referring  to  the  athletic  and  other  records  of  the 
men,  "It  was  a  sight  to  stir  the  heart,  and  a  striking 
testimony  to  the  poiuer  of  the  uplifted  Christ  to  draw 
to  Himself,  not  the  weak,  the  emotional  and  the  illit- 
erate only,  but  all  that  is  noblest  in  strength  and  finest 
in  culture. 

"As  we  stood  among  that  vast  audience,  we  could 
not  but  be  struck  by  the  intense  earnestness,  the  en- 
thusiasm for  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  overflowing  hap- 
piness of  these  outgoing  missionaries.  It  is  no  un- 
worthy prospect,  surely,  no  mean  ambition  which  has 
called  forth  all  that  is  best  and  deepest  in  these  young 
and  consecrated  lives.'' 

And  the  purpose  and  the  consecration  which  were 
read  in  their  faces,  and  breathed  through  their  words 
that  evening,  have  lived  and  borne  fruit  in  the  years 
that  have  followed.    For  all  of  them  are  still  engaged 


300  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

in  missionary  service.  One,  under  urgent  medical 
necessity,  has  changed  his  field,  at  any  rate  for  a 
time.  The  other  six  remain  to-day  valued  members 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission;  one,  Lieutenant 
Hoste,  being  the  Acting  General  Director  during  Mr. 
Taylor's  comparative  ill-health;  another  having  been 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Western  China  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  superintending  not  only 
a  considerable  number  of  the  Episcopal  members  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  but  also  their  fellow- 
workers  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  who  are 
laboring  in  this  inland  diocese. 

^^We  do  not  go  to  that  far  field,"  said  Stanley 
Smith  that  evening,  '^to  tell  of  doctrines  merely,  but 
of  a  living,  present  Christ.  .  .  .  From  the  Cross  of 
Calvary  the  face  of  Jesus  still  cries,  ^I  thirst.' 

^'Ah,  that  divine  thirst !  It  has  not  yet  been 
quenched;  it  has  hardly  begun  to  be  quenched.  He 
thirsts  for  the  Chinese,  Africans,  Hindus,  South 
Americans.  Are  there  none  here  who  would  fain 
quench  His  thirst? 

"David  thirsted  for  the  waters  of  Bethlehem,  and 
three  of  his  followers  broke  through  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy,  and,  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  brought 
him  this  water.  Shall  not  this  Mightier  than  David 
have  His  thirst  quenched  to-night  ?  Shall  not  the  Man 
of  Sorrows  have  His  great  heart  rejoiced  by  men  and 
women  offering  themselves  for  the  work  of  spreading 
the  glorious  Gospel  ?  Christ  yearns  over  this  earth. 
What  are  we  going  to  do? 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER.  301 

"And  now  a  last  word.  ...  To  each  He  comes 
with  tender  love,  and  pointing  to  the  wounds  in  His 
pierced  side,  He  asks,  ^Lovest  thou  me?' 

''  'Yea,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee,' 
What  is  the  test  of  love  ?  'Ye  are  my  friends  if  ye 
do  whatsoever  I  command  you.' 

"  'What,  Master,  do  You  command  V  'Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature.'  " 

A  year  and  a  half  before,  a  lonely  worker  was 
kneeling,  away  in  the  heart  of  North  China,  pouring 
out  his  soul  to  God  in  prayer.  His  wife  passing 
across  the  open  courtyard,  heard  the  burden  of  his 
prayer — that  God  would  call  forth  reinforcements, 
especially  men  of  the  highest  gifts  and  attainments, 
young  men  from  British  universities. 

This  prayer  was  constantly  upon  the  lips  and  in  the 
heart  of  Dr.  Harold  Schofield  during  the  last  months 
of  his  life  at  T'ai-yuan.  Before  that  same  year,  1883, 
ended,  Stanley  Smith  had  written  to  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor,  volunteering  for  missionary  service  in  China, 
and  a  few  months  later  the  others  followed.  Who 
can  doubt  that  this  "Cambridge  Band"  was  God's 
answer  to  His  servant's  prayer? 

During  the  journey  to  China,  both  on  the  steamer 
and  at  the  ports  of  call,  these  missionaries  were  used 
of  God  in  winning  souls;  and  also  after  their  arrival 
in  China,  among  the  English-speaking  residents  at 
Shanghai,  Pekin  and  elsewhere. 


302  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

But  not  only  thus  did  God  set  His  seal  upon  His 
servants.  Before  they  left  home,  they  visited  the 
principal  universities  of  England  and  Scotland,  and 
were  the  means  in  God's  hands  of  bringing  about  a 
great  revival,  both  of  Christian  life  and  of  missionary 
interest,  especially  at  Edinburgh. 

Dr.  Moxey,  of  Edinburgh,  wrote,  shortly  after  the 
party  sailed  for  China,  ''The  event  that  has  precipi- 
tated the  shower  of  blessing  that  has  fallen  in  our 
midst,  is  the  visit  of  the  two  young  Christian  evan- 
gelists from  Cambridge,  who  are  now  on  their  w^ay 
to  preach  Christ  to  the  Chinese.  Students,  like  other 
young  men,  are  apt  to  regard  professedly  religious 
men  of  their  own  age  as  wanting  in  manliness,  unfit 
for  the  river  or  the  cricket  field,  and  only  good  for 
psalm-singing  and  pulling  long  faces;  but  the  big, 
muscular  hands  and  the  long  arms  of  the  ex-captain 
of  the  Cambridge  eight,  stretched  out  in  pleading, 
while  he  eloquently  told  the  old  story  of  redeeming 
love,  capsized  their  theories.'' 

At  Oxford  and  Cambridge  also  a  great  impression 
was  made.  From  the  latter  a  delegation  of  forty 
students  was  sent  up  to  the  farewell  meeting  at 
Exeter  Hall  in  London,  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made.  Their  spokesman  said  at  that 
meeting:  "Since  I  have  been  in  this  hall  it  has  been 
said  to  me,  'What  a  pity  that  such  men  should  be  go- 
ing abroad.  We  want  them  here  at  home.  Those  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  as  they  have,  could 
win  young  men  to  Christ,  and  do  a  work  that  others. 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER,  303 

less  known,  cannot  accomplish.'    And  he  went  on  to 
add:  ^I  hope  it  will  be  for  the  best.' 

^^ISTow,  sirs,  I  do  not  hope  it.  I  thank  God  that  I 
know  it  is  for  the  best.  I  know  what  their  going  out 
has  done  for  me.  I  know  what  it  has  done  for  Cam- 
bridge. .  .  .  We  had  meetings  in  room  after 
room  night  by  night  at  Cambridge,  and  at  one  over 
forty  men  stood  up  and  gave  themselves  to  mission- 
ary work." 

A  correspondent  of  the  Record,  ^vriting  of  the 
farewell  meeting  which  had  been  held  at  Cambridge, 
at  which  large  numbers  of  students  were  present, 
wondered,  as  he  sat  in  that  meeting,  what  it  could 
be  in  the  China  Inland  Mission  which  had  attracted 
to  it  such  men  as  these.  "My  main  reasons,  after  all, 
reduced  themselves  to  one:  the  uncompromising 
spirituality  and  unworldliness  of  the  program  of  the 
Mission  responded  to  by  hearts  that  have  laid  all  at 
the  Lord's  feet." 

On  February  5th,  1885,  Stanley  Smith  and  Charles 
Studd  and  their  companions  sailed  for  China,  fol- 
lowed by  the  kind  wishes  and  prayers  of  perhaps  a 
larger  number  of  Christian  students  in  England  and 
Scotland  than  had  ever  before  taken  interest  in  out- 
going missionary  workers. 

On  their  arrival  in  China  their  heads  were  shaved, 
as  usual,  the  Chinese  dress  donned,  borrowed  queues 
attached  to  their  red-buttoned  Chinese  skull  caps 
(until  their  own  hair  should  grow),  and  the  study 
of  the  language  was  entered  upon  in  earnest.    .Three 


304  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

went  west,  up  the  great  Yang-tse  river;  and  four 
went  north  to  the  province  in  which  Dr.  Schofield 
had  labored  and  prayed  and  died. 

The  unusual  friendliness  of  the  people,  due,  as  we 
have  seen,  to  the  famine  relief  work  a  few  years  be- 
fore, and  due  at  the  capital  to  the  medical  work  of 
the  indefatigable  Dr.  Schofield,  made  this  appoint- 
ment a  wise  one,  and  gave  exceptional  opportunities 
to  the  newcomers. 

At  the  time  of  their  arrival,  in  addition  to  the  two 
stations  of  the  China  Inland  Mission — T'ai-yuan  in 
the  center  of  the  province,  and  P'ing-yang  in  the 
south — the  American  Board  had  recently  com- 
menced work  at  T'ai-ku,  forty  miles  from  the  capital. 
But  three  stations  among  ten  millions  of  people,  and 
they  as  willing  and  ready  to  receive  the  Gospel  as 
any  in  China.  One  is  reminded  of  the  children  of 
Israel  and  of  their  first  arrival  in  the  promised  land. 
God  had  begun  to  give  it,  but  they  were  so  slow  to 
*^go  in  and  possess."  When  will  the  Church  enter 
upon  its  heritage  and  claim  the  promise  given  to  its 
Master:  ^^Ask  of  Me  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  thy  possession"  ? 

In  the  south  of  the  province  at  the  time  of  the 
arrival  of  these  missionaries,  signs  of  coming  bless- 
ing were  abundantly  apparent,  especially  in  and 
around  the  city  of  P'ing-yang.  Six  years  before,  the 
Rev.  David  Hill  had  been  engaged  in  famine  relief 
in  that  district,  and  had  come  in  contact  with  a  man 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER.  305 

of  remarkable   gifts,  but   a  slave   to  opium,   and   a 
moral  and  physical  wreck  in  consequence. 

Mr.  Hill  had  offered  a  prize  of  fifty  ounces  of 
silver  to  the  man  who  would  write  the  best  essay  on 
certain  Christian  subjects,  the  necessary  books  being 
supplied  gratuitously.  At  the  same  time  three  lesser 
prizes  were  offered  for  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
essays,  in  order  of  merit.  This  opium  habitue,  a 
gentleman  farmer  of  the  name  of  Hsi,  and  a  distin- 
guished scholar,  not  only  carried  off  the  first  prize, 
but  also,  by  essays  which  he  had  written  for  personal 
friends,  had  won  for  them,  it  transpired  afterwards, 
the  second  and  third  prizes! 

David  Hill  made  a  point  of  seeing  the  successful 
scholar,  and  gradually,  by  kindliness  and  courtesy, 
disarmed  his  prejudice,  encouraged  him  to  study  the 
Scriptures  further,  and  ere  long  had  the  joy  of  see- 
ing him  turn  wholeheartedly  to  the  Lord. 

No  sooner  was  Hsi  converted  than  he  began  to 
work.  He  was  a  man  who  could  do  nothing  by 
halves.  From  his  lips  his  aged  mother  and  the  other 
members  of  his  family  heard  the  Gospel;  and,  still 
more  important,  saw  the  Truth  manifested  in  his 
consistent  life.  Working  sometimes  with  David  Hill 
in  the  city,  sometimes  at  home  among  his  fellow- 
villagers,  and  in  other  places  as  opportunity  offered, 
Mr.  Hsi  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  reality  of  his  having 
turned  to  God. 

David  Hill  did  not  make  a  long  stay  in  the  prov- 
ince.   As  soon  as  the  famine  began  to  pass  away  he 

20 


30G  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

returned  to  his  own  sphere  of  service  in  and  around 
Han-kow.  After  he  left,  the  work  at  P'ing-yang 
was  carried  on  for  a  time  by  Mr.  Turner,  and  two 
years  later  by  Mr.  Samuel  Drake.  As  soon  as  it 
was  practicable  to  organize  the  little  church,  Mr.  Hsi 
was  ordained  an  elder  with  the  entire  approval  of 
the  Christians,  among  whom  he  had  already  proven 
himself  a  leader. 

During  the  years  1882  to  1885,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Drake  conducted  the  work  at  P'ing-yang  with  much 
wisdom,  developing  the  natural  gifts  of  the  mem- 
bers, and  encouraging  them  to  take  a  large  part  in 
the  work.  The  church  grew  slowly,  and  in  1884  still 
numbered  but  fifty  adults,  for  great  caution  was  ex- 
ercised in  admitting  new  members  in  order  that  the 
church  might  be  pure,  and  therefore  strong.  "No 
one  was  admitted  to  fellowship  until  he  had  proved 
his  faith  by  a  year  of  consistent  living. 

There  were,  in  addition,  a  considerable  number  of 
recognized  inquirers,  men  and  women  who,  having 
abandoned  idolatry,  were  regularly  attending  public 
worship,  either  in  the  city  or  in  their  villages,  in 
twenty  of  which,  even  at  this  early  date,  little 
gatherings  of  believers  met  week  by  week.  There 
were,  by  this  time,  not  less  than  three  hundred  reg- 
ular attendants  at  the  various  Sunday  services. 

When  Mr.  Hsi  was  converted  he  saw  clearly,  at 
once,  that  the  opium  pipe  must  go.  To  so  confirmed 
an  opium  smoker  this  involved  terrible  suffering, 
suffering  so  severe  that  it  nearly  cost  his  life.     But 


ANOTHER   ANSWER    TO    PBAYER.  307 

he  determined,  with  his  usual  decision  of  character, 
that  he  would  die  rather  than  go  back  to  the  habit: 
for  even  the  heathen  condemn  it,  smokers  included. 
After  two  or  three  weeks  of  intolerable  suffering  liis 
pains  were  in  an  instant  entirely  removed,  as  he  be- 
lieved, in  answer  to  prayer  and  by  the  direct  opera- 
tion in  his  '^mortal  body"  of  God  the  Holy  Ghost. 

From  the  first,  therefore,  Mr.  Hsi  felt  the  keenest 
sympathy  with  those  who  had  become  enslaved  by 
this  degrading  and  ener\^ating  habit,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  help  them.  As  he  studied  the  Word  of  God, 
he  tried  with  all  his  heart  to  carry  it  out  in  daily  life, 
and  wherever  he  went  he  strengthened  the  hands  of 
the  Christians,  shepherded  and  cared  for  inquirers 
and  converts.  And  from  time  to  time  he  established 
opium  refuges  in  important  centers,  where  anti-nar- 
cotic pills  were  used  which  he  himself  compounded. 
Indeed,  in  making  out  the  prescription  for  these,  he 
believed  he  was  very'  definitely  guided  in  answer  to 
special  prayer.  But  though  this  refuge  work  became 
an  increasingly  important  branch  of  his  life-work, 
wherever  he  went,  and  whatever  he  did,  his  principal 
object  was  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  he  could  reach. 

Early  in  1685,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Drake,  being  in  serious 
need  of  change,  had  to  leave  the  promising  young 
church  for  a  time,  whereby  Mr.  Hsi's  gifts  of  leader- 
ship were  still  further  exercised.  This  was  the  con- 
dition of  things  when  Stanley  Smith,  Montagu  Beau- 
champ,  D.  E.  Hoste  and  W.  W.  Cassels  were  ap- 
pointed to  this  center.     Their  jonrney  from  the  pro- 


308  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

vincial  capital  southward  was  taken  in  the  month  of 
June,  when  the  wheat  and  barley  harvests  were 
nearly  ready  for  the  reaper,  and  the  young  Indian 
corn  and  the  tall-growing  sorghum  were  already  well 
in  evidence.  Here  and  there,  also,  were  brilliant 
patches  of  poppy,  that  remarkable  plant  so  beautiful 
in  summer  and  so  gaunt  and  hideous  in  the  fall:  apt 
parable  of  its  own  delicious  exhilaration  and  the  blast- 
ing, withering  results ! 

As  they  neared  the  city  of  P'ing-yang,  just  the  day 
before  they  would  arrive,  a  Chinaman  accosted  Stan- 
ley Smith,  who  was  walking  in  front,  and  gave  him 
a  hearty  English  handshake,  much  to  his  surprise. 
(The  Chinese  method  of  salutation  is  to  place  the 
half-closed  fists  together,  hidden  by  long  sleeves,  and 
slowly  swing  them  upwards  to  the  forehead,  at  the 
same  time  slightly  bowing.)  Surely,  this  must  be 
someone  acquainted  mth  foreignei-s,  and  from  his 
manner  and  his  smile  pres  umably  a  Christian.  ^^Ye- 
su-tih-men-t'u?"  asked  Mr.  Smith  in  broken  Chinese. 
^^Are  you  a  Christian  V^  The  reply  being  affirmative, 
they  soon  felt  at  home  with  crue  another. 

A  little  later,  as  they  were  passing  the  end  of  a 
valley,  the  Christian  turned  his  head  in  that  direc- 
tion and  said,  ^'All  the  people  living  up  there  are 
abandoning  their  idols.  I  am  not  sui-prised  to 

see  you,"  he  added.  ''How  is  that?"  was  the  reply. 
"Because  I  have  been  praying  for  missionaries  to 
come."  They  were  invited  to  take  dinner  at  his 
home,  and  there  met  five  or  six  other  Christians,  with 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER.  309 

whom  they  had  a  delightful  little  time:  the  new- 
comers greatly  enjoying  the  fellowship  and  praise  and 
prayer,  although,  of  course,  understanding  compara- 
tively little,  as  yet,  of  the  local  dialect. 

At  P'ing-yang  they  soon  settled  in.     Each  mis- 
sionary had  a  room  to  himself.    Mr.  Bailer  and  Mr. 
Key,  who  had  come  with  them,  occupied  an  adjoining 
courtyard,  in  which  also  were  the  dining-room  and 
kitchen;   and  a  third  courtyard  was  occupied  by  the 
native  evangelist  and  his  family.     How  gladly  the 
new  missionaries  were  welcomed  by  the  earnest  little 
church !    Of  course,  a  large  part  of  the  time  was  de- 
voted to  the  language  at  first,  but  much  time  also  was 
given  to  the  work.     And  within  eight  months  the 
work  had  been  so  extended  that  the  four  brethren 
were  separated  in  four  important  cities,  with  P'ing- 
yang  as  the  center. 

A  year  later  a  visit,  long  promised  and  most  wel- 
come, was  paid  to  these  workers  by  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor.  The  missionaries,  new  and  old,  went  up  to 
T'ai-vuan;  and  there  they  had  a  most  delightful  sea- 
son of  refreshing,  the  story  of  which  is  told  in  an 
admirable  little  book,  ^^Days  of  Blessing,"  by  Mon- 
tagu Beauchamp.  This  is  a  little  work  of  pennanent 
interest  for  the  insight  it  gives  into  a  most  successful 
branch  of  mission  work  in  China. 

From  here  Mr.  Taylor  went  south  with  the  return- 
ing brethren,  and  important  conferences  were  held 
r.t  Hung-tung  and  at  P'ing-yang.  Deeply  interestmg 
and  most  impressive  services  were  held  at  both  these 


310  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

places ;  and  Mr.  Ksi,  from  being  elder,  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  superintending  pastor  of  P'ing-yang 
and  the  neighboring  stations.  Other  native  pastors, 
and  elders,  and  deacons  were  also  appointed,  none 
of  whom  received  salary,  although  some  of  them  Tvere 
helped  occasionally  when  necessity  arose.  Others,  on 
the  contrary,  gave  largely  of  their  own  means,  Pastor 
Ilsi  among  the  number. 

From  here  Mr.  Taylor  traveled  on  still  further  in- 
land, past  the  capital  of  the  neighboring  province  of 
Shen-si,  nearly  a  month's  journey,  to  Han-chong;  no 
easy  journey  at  the  height  of  a  Chinese  summer! 
And  from  there  he  returned  by  boat  to  Han-kow. 

The  conferences  at  P'ing-yang  and  elsewhere  not 
only  manifested  the  high  spiritual  tone  of  the  native 
churches,  but  gave  them  fresh  impetus.  As  a  result, 
they  were  introduced  as  annual  or  semi-annual  re- 
unions for  the  scattered  members.  And  on  these  oc- 
casions large  collections  were  usually  taken  to  for- 
ward the  interests  of  the  vi^ork,  which  became  thus, 
to  a  large  extent,  self-supporting,  especially  in  the 
country  stations. 

At  the  commencement  of  his  Christian  life,  Mr. 
Hsi  had  fasted  and  prayed  much  for  the  conversion 
of  his  mother  and  his  wife,  as  well  as  for  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family.  After  some  months  of  patient 
teaching  and  earnest  prayer  he  had  the  joy  of  seeing 
them  both  come  out  boldly  on  the  Lord's  side;  and 
al  the  time  which  we  have  now  reached,  Pastor  Hsi 
had   a   valuable,   sympathetic  fellow-worker   in    his 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER.  311 

wife,  a  woman  of  more  than  usual  gifts  and  devo- 
tion. 

About  this  time  Mrs.  Hsi  expressed  surprise  one 
morning  at  family  prayers  that  her  husband  kept  on 
pra^dng  for  Hoh-chau,  and  yet  seemed  to  do  nothing 
to  open  Avork  in  that  important  city.  Mr.  Ilsi's  reply 
was  that  he  longed  to  open  it,  but  that  all  available 
funds  were  already  in  use :  what  else  could  he  do  but 
wait  on  God  about  the  matter? 

Would  that  many  home  Christians,  who  cannot  go 
to  the  foreign  field,  and  who  may  be  unable  to  do 
much,  personally,  to  forward  the  work  abroad,  felt 
equally  burdened  to  accomplish  by  prayer  what  they 
cannot  do  in  other  ways.  God's  work  among  the 
heathen  would  show  the  difference  if  they  did! 
Probably  nothing  in  the  world  could  so  help  forward 
the  worh  of  Missions  as  earnest  acceptance  of  this 
manifest  Christian  duty  by  the  Church  at  home. 

!N'ext  morning  at  family  prayers,  as  the  pastor  rose 
from  his  knees,  having  prayed  as  usual  for  Hoh-chau, 
Mrs.  Hsi  stepped  up  to  the  table  and  laid  on  the  open 
Bible  a  neat  little  parcel  in  a  handkerchief.  Inter- 
ested and  surprised.  Pastor  Hsi  opened  the  package 
and  saw  to  his  amazement — all  Mrs.  Hsi's  gold  and 
silver  rings  and  ornaments  and  hairpins.  He  looked 
up  questioningly  at  his  wife,  and  she  replied,  ^Tl  can 
do  without  these.    Let  Hoh-chau  have  the  Gospel." 

Tears  came  to  the  good  man's  eyes.  His  loving, 
generous  heart  was  touched,  for  he  knew  how  much 
the  sacrifice  of  all  her  jewelry  involved,  but  in  the 


312  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

same  spirit  as  she  gave,  he  reverently  folded  them  up 
on  the  open  Book,  and  accepted  them  for  the  work  of 
God  at  Hoh-chaii.  A  station  was  opened  and  work 
commenced,  which  has  steadily  grown  and  increased 
ever  since.  This  station,  opened  by  a  Avoman, 

was  put  in  charge  of  two  l^orwegian  sisters  in  the 
year  1886,  through  whose  prayerful  supervision  and 
earnest  consecrated  influence  the  little  church  grew 
steadily. 

So  remarkably  did  the  work  prosper  in  this  district 
that  during  the  conferences  in  the  spring  of  1887  no 
fewer  than  two  hundred  and  sixteen  were  baptized  at 
one  station,  Hung-tung,  besides  some  tens  of  others 
in  neighboring  cities.  That  conference  was  a  time 
Avhich  will  never  be  forgotten;  and  wonderful  were 
the  testimonies  of  many  of  the  native  Christians. 
Pastor  Hsi's  remarkable  gifts,  both  as  a  speaker  of 
rare  spirituality  and  insight  and  as  a  leader  among 
men,  came  into  marked  evidence  at  this  impressive 
gathering. 

It  is  possible,  however,  that  a  mistake  was  made  in 
baptizing  so  many  without  the  usual  year  of  proba- 
tion. As  a  result  a  certain  percentage  (rather  more 
than  25  per  cent.)  of  this  number  backslid  within  six 
years  and  were  lost  to  the  Church.  It  is  a  matter, 
however,  for  thankfulness  to  God,  that  over  70 
per  cent,  maintained  a  good  profession.  Further  ex- 
periences at  that  and  the  surrounding  centers  brought 
the  workers  back  to  the  usual  custom  of  the  Mission 
of  keeping  the  new  converts  as  "inquirers"  or  cate- 


ANOTHER    ANSWER    TO    PRAYER.  313 

chumens  for  a  year  or  more,  until  there  could  be  no 
longer  any  uncertainty  as  to  the  reality  and  thorough- 
ness of  their  conversion. 

In  spite  of  the  difficulties  that  grew  out  of  this  mis- 
take, the  work  continued  to  go  forward  throughout 
the  district,  and  in  four  years  (between  1886  and 
1890)  six  hundred  believers  had  been  received  into 
the  Church.  When  Dr.  Schofield  died,  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1883,  there  were  but  two  churches,  with  per- 
haps fifty  members  in  all,  in  the  province.  Ten  years 
later  there  were  over  a  thousand  Christians  being 
cared  for  by  more  than  seventy  missionaries,  with 
seventeen  stations  and  a  considerable  numl)cr  of  out- 
stations  in  their  charge. 

From  that  time  until  now  the  work  has  continued 
to  increase  at  such  a  steady  and  encouraging  rate  that 
it  seems  little  wonder  that  the  great  Enemy  of  souls 
sought  to  eradicate  the  Christian  Church  in  that 
province,  two  or  three  years  ago,  through  the  Boxer 
uprising. 

Terribly  though  the  Church  suffered  during  that 
awful  time,  the  work  continues  and  is  being  pros- 
pered of  God.  Nearly  a  hundred  members  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission  churches  laid  down  their  lives, 
and  very  many  others  suffered  beyond  the  power  of 
words  to  tell;  but  God  has  brought  them  through. 
The  Church,  if  smaller,  is  stronger  and  purer  for  the 
fiery  trial  which  God  has  pennitted,  and  many  of  the 
native  Christians  equalled  in  heroism  their  foreign 
missionary  brethren  and  sisters,  and  have  left  behind 


314  THESE    FORTY    YEAKS. 

au  object  lesson  of  self-surrender  and  unshaken  faith 
which  will  assuredly  not  fail  of  its  results  in  the  years 
that  are  to  come. 

Will  not  the  reader  make  it  a  matter  of  earnest 
prayer  to  God  that  where  the  martyr-seed  of  the 
Church  lias  thus  been  sown,  a  blessed,  commensurate 
harvest  may  yet  be  reaped  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord? 


CHAPTER    XYI. 


"ask  what  ye  will." 


But  to  return:  not  only  in  Shan-si,  but  in  other 
parts  of  the  empire,  also,  the  work  was  being  so 
prospered  of  God  that  the  need  for  reinforcements 
was  becoming  serious.  Since  the  prayer  for  the 
seventy,  at  the  close  of  1881,  the  Mission  had  al- 
ready doubled  its  membership  by  1886.  From  about 
a  hundred  missionaries  it  had  increased  to  fully  two 
hundred,  and  the  work  in  the  interior  had  been  cor- 
respondingly extended. 

The  Mission  had  grown,  moreover,  out  of  being 
practically  a  large  family  of  workers,  with  Mr.  Tay- 
lor its  father,  into  a  company  of  workers  and  a  work 
too  large  for  any  one  man  to  superintend  alone. 
After  much  prayer,  accordingly,  several  of  the  older 
workers,  who  had  shown  not  only  whole-hearted  de- 
votion to  the  work  and  to  the  Master,  but  had  also 
evinced  a  talent  for  leadership,  were  selected  and 
appointed  by  Mr.  Taylor  "Provincial  Superintend- 
ents," having  in  charge  the  care  of  a  province,  or, 
occasionally,  more  than  one. 

Moreover,  the  exigencies  of  the  work  demanded 
that  Mr.  Taylor  should  spend  part  of  the  time^  at 
home,  and  during  his  absence  it  was  increasingly  im- 
portant that  some  one  should  act  as  his  deputy  in 
China.    For  this  central  post  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Steven- 

315 


316  THESE    FORTY    YEAKS. 

son  was  selected.  IVIr.  Stevenson,  it  may  be  remem- 
bered, was  one  of  the  earliest  members  of  the  Mis- 
sion, and  went  out  early  in  1866,  before  the  "Lam- 
mermuir"  party.  Since  that  time,  twenty  years  of 
service  in  China  and  Upper  Burmah  had  proved  his 
fitness  for  the  post.  Full  of  wisdom  and  of  faith, 
and  greatly  refreshed  and  blessed  during  a  recent 
furlough,  Mr.  Taylor  had  no  hesitation  in  asking  him 
to  undertake  the  onerous  duties  of  Deputy  Director 
on  the  field. 

The  new  Superintendents  and  Director  met  with 
Mr.  Taylor  at  Gan-king,  two  days'  journey  up  the 
Yang-tse,  for  prayer  and  conference  in  ISTovember, 
1886.  Eight  days  they  spent — fasting  till  sundown 
each  alternate  day — in  waiting  upon  the  Lord,  and 
conferring  together  about  many  important  questions, 
especially  the  need  for  reinforcements. 

For  urgent  letters  had  been  received  that  year 
from  many  stations,  asking  for  brethren  and  sisters, 
either  to  strengthen  the  staff  at  strategic  centers, 
or  to  take  the  place  of  workers  needing  furlough, 
or  to  enter  open  doors  in  yet  unoccupied  cities. 
After  much  prayer  and  consideration,  the  new 
Deputy  Director  suggested:  ^'Shall  we  not  pray  for 
immediate  reinforcements — a  hundred  new  workers 
during  the  coming  year?"  Such  a  suggestion,  made 
po  earnestly,  toward  the  close  of  the  season  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer,  could  not  be  taken  lightly.  It  was 
prayerfully  considered.  And  after  some  conference 
it  was   unanimously   accepted.      Never   before   had 


"ask  what  ye  will."  317 

there  been  such  opportunities;  never  before  had 
there  been  so  great  and  urgent  need  for  reinforce- 
ments, if  existing  work  were  not  to  suffer  and  if 
doors  now  open  were  not  to  close  unentered.  The 
unanimity  of  the  brethren  was  complete,  and  with 
great  joy  they  commenced  at  once  to  pray  for  a  hun- 
dred new  workers  in  1887. 

Difficulties,  of  course,  had  suggested  themselves. 
Tor  one  thing,  a  period  of  abundance  financially  had 
been  followed  during  the  last  year  or  two  by  some 
degree  of  financial  straitness.  The  membership  had 
increased  without  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
income.  What  would  happen  if  two  hundred  mem- 
bers increased  to  three  hundred  in  a  single  year?  "I 
presume  our  Master  knows,"  said  Mr.  Taylor,  ''that 
this  forward  step  is  impossible  without  a  correspond- 
ing increase  of  funds."  A  calculation  was  made. 
The  income  had  stood  at  about  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  a  year  for  some  time,  and  if  a  hundred  new 
workers  were  to  be  accepted  and  sent  out  and  main- 
tained, in  the  following  year,  an  additional  fifty 
thousand  would  be  needed. 

Another  practical  difficulty  was  suggested  by  a 
former  Secretary.  The  correspondence  at  home  was 
heavy.  And  since  collections  are  never  taken,  con- 
tributions both  large  and  small  are  sent  in  through 
the  mail.  If  fifty  thousand  dollars  were  received  in 
gifts  averaging  a  dollar,  fifty  thousand  replies  would 
have  to  be  written  to  the  letters  of  the  donors,  and 
fifty  thousand  receipts  made  out.     ''Enough  to  kill 


318  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

the  overworked  brethren  at  home,"  someone  sug- 
gested. 

^'I  expect  the  Lord  knows  that  also,"  said  Mr. 
Taylor,  with  a  smile.  ^^Shall  we  not  ask  the  Lord 
to  incline  some  of  His  wealthier  stewards  to  send  in 
the  extra  money  in  large  sumSj  that  it  may  not  be 
necessary  to  write  so  many  letters?"  A  triple  peti- 
tion, therefore,  was  presented  to  God :  for  a  hundred 
workers  within  the  year,  for  fifty  thousand  dollars 
extra  income,  and  that  the  additional  money  might 
come  in  large  gifts,  that  the  workers  at  home  might 
not  be  overtaxed. 

When  the  conference  was  over,  ''Pity  we  could 
not  all  gather  together  again,"  said  one,  "for  a 
thanksgiving  meeting  when  the  hundred  are  in 
China,  to  praise  the  Lord  for  the  men  and  women 
and  the  money  He  had  sent."  Mr.  Taylor  suggested, 
"  VYhy  not  to-night?"  And  so,  that  very  evening,  they 
all  united  in  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  God  for  the 
nnswer  they  felt  assured  He  would  grant  to  their 
petition.  Full  of  confident  hope  in  God,  the  workers 
separated,  and  thus  ended  the  first  meeting  of  the 
''China  Council"  of  the  Mission. 

When  Mr.  Taylor  reached  Shanghai  a  few  days 
later,  an  old  and  beloved  missionary  acquaintance 
met  him  and  said:  "Well,  Mr.  Taylor,  I  am  greatly 
interested  to  hear  that  you  are  praying  for  a  hundred 
new  workers  next  year.  You  will  not  get  a  hundred j 
you  know,  but  you  will  get  many  more  than  you 
otherwise  would!" 


"ask  what  ye  will.  319 

"Well,  dear  brother,"  was  the  reply,  "I  am  not  a 
prophet,  but  I  believe  you  will  see  the  last  of  the 
hundred  arrive  in  China  in  due  course." 

Having  now  decided  to  wait  upon  the  Lord  thus 
definitely  for  reinforcements,  the  matter  was  laid 
before  the  members  of  the  Mission,  and  as  many  as 
approved  were  invited  to  join  in  earnest  and  definite 
waiting  upon  God  for  the  hundred  new  workers  with- 
in the  coming  year. 

If  this  prayer  were  to  be  answered,  however,  as 
the  leaders  of  the  Mission  had  no  doubt  it  would 
be,  preparation  must  be  made  to  receive  the  new- 
comers. Both  for  the  brethren  and  for  the  sisters 
training  homes  would  be  needed.  In  such  numbers 
they  could  no  longer  be  scattered  through  the  Mk 
sion.  It  would  be  impracticable  either  to  escort  them 
inland  or  to  receive  them  at  the  scattered  stations  so 
rapidly.  Accordingly,  two  easily  accessible  cities 
were  selected  for  the  Homes,  and  Miss  Maria mne 
Murray  was  asked  to  be  the  ladies'  principal  at  Yang- 
chau,  while  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bailer  accepted  the  super- 
vision of  the  Men's  Home  at  Gan-king.* 

♦Mr.  Bailer,  in  the  meantime,  commenced  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  series  of  invaluable  text-books  of  the  language, 
with  the  assistance  of  a  fellow-missionary  and  several  schol- 
arly Chinese.  A  curriculum  also  was  decided  upon,  which 
should  embrace  the  ordinary  Classics,  with  which  every 
missionary  ought  to  be  familiar,  as  well  as  the  Bible,  "Pil- 
grim's Progress,"  a  book  of  Christian  evidences,  and  a  cer- 
tain number  of  standard  Gospel  tracts.  This  thorough  cur- 
riculum is  compulsory,  and  rightly  so.  The  best  work  can- 
not be  done  in  illiterate  Chinese. 


320  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Word  was  sent  home  to  England,  of  course.  And 
there  the  Home  Council,  encouraged  by  the  previous 
answer  to  prayer  for  the  seventy,  gladly  united  in 
waiting  upon  God.  Soon  after  New  Year,  1887,  Mr. 
Taylor  started  home  to  assist  in  the  work  of  selecting 
and  equipping  the  missionaries. 

By  the  time  he  reached  England,  in  February, 
thirty  candidates  had  already  been  accepted,  and 
about  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was  already  in  hand 
for  passages  and  outfits,  enough  for  at  least  fifty 
workers.  Beyond  a  mention  in  China  s  Millions, 
the  monthly  organ  of  the  Mission,  that  such  prayer 
was  being  offered,  and  a  request  that  friends  who  felt 
able  would  unite  in  the  prayer,  no  steps  whatever 
had  been  taken  to  obtain  this  money:  no  steps  but 
the  one  great  step  of  faith.  No  friend  of  the  Mission 
had  been  asked  to  give  a  cent.  The  Hearer  and 
Answerer  of  prayer  had  heard,  and  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  His  answer. 

Mr.  Taylor,  it  is  needless  to  say,  was  greatly 
cheered.  Thirty-one  were  sent  out  in  the  spring,  and 
sixty-nine  followed  in  the  fall  and  early  winter. 
^'We  began  the  matter  aright — with  God,"  said  Mr. 
Taylor  at  the  annual  meeting  in  May,  "and  we  are 
quite  sure  that  we  shall  end  all  right.  It  is  a  great 
joy  to  know  that  thirty-one  of  the  hundred  are  already 
in  China." 

"We  always  accept  a  suitable  volunteer  whether 
we  have  funds  in  hand  or  not.  Then  we  very  often 
say,  ^Now,  dear  friend,  your  first  work  will  be  to 


*^ASK   WtiAT   YE   WILL."  821 

join  iifl  in  praying  for  the  money  to  send  you  to 
China/  "  He  always  goes,  and  that  without  consider- 
able delay.  ^'Depend  upon  it,  God's  work  done  in 
God's  way  will  never  lack  God's  supplies."  Thus 
God  answered  definite,  believing  prayer. 

The  veteran  niissionary  referred  to  above  lived  to 
see  the  last  party  of  the  hundred  arrive  in  China.  A 
few  days  later  he  finished  his  course  with  joy,  and 
was  called  to  his  reward. 

21 


CHAPTEE   XV 11. 


extension;  or,  the  guiding  hand  of  god. 

Thus  far  we  have  traced  the  history  of  the  Mission 
ill  some  detail,  through  its  first  twenty-one  years,  and 
have  watched  its  growth  from  small  and  limited  be- 
ginnings until  it  came  to  be,  in  numbers  and  sphere 
of  work,  one  of  the  important  agencies  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  China. 

By  the  end  of  the  year  1887,  as  we  have  seen,  its 
membership  was  about  three  hundred,  and  its  workers 
were  scattered — few  and  far  between,  it  is  true — • 
over  a  large  part  of  the  ^'eighteen  provinces,"  in- 
cluding most  of  those  which  had  been  entirely  un- 
evangelized,  and  Avere  indeed  untouched  at  the  time 
of  the  formation  of  the  Mission. 

From  its  majority  onward  it  "will  only  be  necessary 
to  follow  the  work  more  generally,  tracing  the  main 
developments  which  have  taken  place  during  the  fif- 
teen years  from  then  till  now,  September,  1902. 

Toward  the  end  of  1887,  an  earnest  young  Amer- 
ican evangelist  came  over  to  London  to  see  Mr. 
Taylor.  For  some  time  he  had  taken  a  deep  interest 
in  the  China  Inland  Mission,  and  the  thought  had 
come  to  him,  '^Why  should  not  the  China  Inland 
Mission  draw  workers  from  America,  as  well  as  from 
England?"     He  made  it  the  subject  of  prayer  for 

322 


extension;  or,  the  guiding  hand  of  god.     323 

some  time;  and  finally,  strongly  impressed  that  the 
thought  was  of  God,  came  to  England  to  talk  it  over 
with  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor. 

Mr.  Taylor  listened  intently,  and  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  his  new  friend  and  his  manifest  conviction, 
but  he  could  not  see  his  way  clear  to  accede  to  the 
proposal.  ''The  Lord  has  given  me  no  light  about 
it,''  was  his  reply.  Shortly  after,  another  visitor 

called  to  see  Mr.  Taylor,  bringing  a  very  hearty  in- 
vitation from  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody  to  take  part  in  the 
important  summer  Conference  for  college  students, 
to  be  held  in  June,  at  :N'orthfield,  Massachusetts. 

About  the  same  time,  moreover,  a  letter  came  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Niagara  Conference,  inviting 
Mr.  Taylor  to  take  part  in  that  meeting  in  July. 
After  prayerful  consideration,  these  two  invitations, 
to  Northfield  and  Niagara,  were  accepted;  and  about 
the  middle  of  June,  1888,  Mr.  Taylor  crossed  to 
America,  accompanied  by  his  old  friends,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Keginald  Kadcliffe,  and  his  second  son.  Dr. 
Howard  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor  was  returning  to  China, 
and  expected  to  spend  a  couple  of  months  en  route 
in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

Both  at  Northfield  and  Niagara  Mr.  Taylor  met 
with  much  kindness  and  sympathy,  Mr.  Moody  him- 
self, at  the  former  Conference,  becoming  quite  en- 
thusiastic over  Mr.  Taylor's  Bible  lessons  and  talks 
about  the  work  in  China.  At  one  of  the  missionary 
meetings,  the  beloved  evangelist  insisted  that  they 
must  take  up  a  collection  for  the  work.     Knowing 


324  THESE    EOHTY    YEABS. 

Mr.  Taylor's  unwillingness  to  make  any  appeal  for 
funds,  he  said:  "This  collection,  every  one  will  un- 
derstand, is  not  taken  up  by  Mr.  Taylor,  but  by  me ; 
if  you  all  feel  as  I  do,  you  want  to  show  some  practi- 
cal expression  of  sympathy  in  the  work  of  the  C^hina 
Inland  Mission."  Mr.  Taylor's  courteous  but  firm 
remonstrance  proved  unavailing;  the  collection  was 
taken,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  Mr.  Moody, 
in  the  name  of  the  audience,  insisted  upon  giving  it 
to  Mr.  Taylor.  But  Mr.  Taylor,  while  expressing  his 
deep  thankfulness,  persisted  in  refusing  it.  Mr. 
Moody  afterwards  used  the  money  for  the  cause  of 
Missions  in  China,  but  just  how  he  did  so  Mr.  Taylor 
never  knew. 

At  the  Niagara  Conference,  also,  Mr.  Taylor  spoke 
repeatedly,  both  from  the  Word  and  about  the  work. 
And  after  six  or  eight  very  happy  days  at  Niagara, 
he  went  to  the  home  of  Mr.  H.  W.  Frost  at  Attica, 
near  Buffalo,  for  a  day's  rest.  While  there  he  heard 
with  no  little  surprise  that  funds  had  been  contrib- 
uted by  the  friends  at  Niagara,  sufficient  to  support 
eight  workers  in  the  Mission  for  a  year. 

"Why,  here  is  a  dilemma,"  thought  Mr.  Taylor. 
"Here  is  money  for  workers,  but  no  workers  to  use 
the  money!  Perhaps  the  Lord  is  going  to  give  us 
workers  from  America  after  all."  And  as  he  made  it 
a  matter  of  prayer  the  conviction  deepened,  and  he 
began  to  pray  for  workers  to  use  the  money  thus  pro- 
vided. One  after  another  offered:  among  them  being 
Miss  Edith  Lucas,  a  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  who  had 


TT""- 


extension;  oe,  the  guiding  hand  of  god.    325 

been  one  of  Mr.  Moody's  helpers  at  Northfield,  and 
Miss  Susie  Parker,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  more  di- 
rectly. 

Thus,  prayer  for  workers  was  answered,  suitable 
men  and  women  coming  forward  for  the  work.  But 
the  difficulty  was  that  as  candidate  after  candidate 
was  accepted,  their  personal  friends,  or  churches,  or 
fellow-workers  claimed  the  privilege  of  their  support : 
and  the  money  already  contributed  still  remained 
unused.  At  last,  however,  the  nimiber  was  made  up, 
and  after  twelve  weeks'  of  meetings  and  interviews  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
sailed  for  China  with  fourteen  missionaries;  the  first, 
with  one  exception,  to  join  the  China  Inland  Mission 
from  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

This  proved,  as  Mr.  Frost  expected,  to  be  but  the 
beginning  of  greater  things.  Ere  long,  a  Council  was 
appointed  for  North  America,  Mr.  Frost  and  several 
members  belonging  to  the  United  States  and  the  rest 
to  Canada;  most  of  the  Canadian  members  residing 
at  Toronto,  which  became,  ere  long,  the  North  Amer- 
ican headquarters  of  the  Mission.  Quite  recently  the 
work  has  been  divided  more  conveniently  between 
Toronto  and  Philadelphia. 

From  the  time  of  Mr.  Taylor's  visit  onward  the 
work  has  steadily  grown,  until  there  are  now  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty  members  of  the  Mission  who 
have  gone  out  from  America.  The  wonderful 

story  of  the  way  in  which  the  work  on  this  continent 
has  grown  and  prospered  and  been  provided  for — not- 


326  THESE   FORTY    YEARS. 

withstanding  many  difficulties,  including  not  a  little 
hardship  at  times,  and  many  occasions  when  it  was 
necessary  very  earnestly  to  wait  on  God  for  funds — 
has  been  wi'itten  in  some  detail  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Frost, 
the  American  Director,  and  to  that  account,  which 
will  shortly  be  published,  D.  Y.,  the  reader  is  invited 
to  look  for  further  information  about  this  increas- 
ingly important  department  of  the  work. 

If  all  this  work  has  cost  much  to  Mr.  Frost  and 
those  associated  with  him  in  the  conduct  of  the  work, 
and  to  those  who  have  gone  out  to  lonely  posts  in  far- 
off  China,  it  has  involved  not  less,  perhaps  more,  true 
devotion  to  the  Lord  Jesus  on  the  part  of  many  a 
father  and  mother  who  have  given  their  child  to  Him 
for  China.  Of  this,  one  instance  may  not  be  out  of 
place. 

At  one  of  the  farewell  meetings  of  Mr.  Taylor's 
first  party.  Miss  Susie  Parker's  father,  a  devoted 
Christian  worker,  was  present.  Mr.  Taylor,  knowing 
something  of  his  strong  and  loving  spirit  and  whole- 
hearted devotion,  asked  him  if  he  would  not  say  a 
word.    This,  with  some  reluctance,  he  did. 

"Dear  friends,"  he  said,  "you  know  what  my  dear 
Susie  has  been  to  me.  In  the  home  she  has  never 
given  us  cause  for  regret  or  an  anxious  moment,  and 
in  the  mission  work  in  which  I  am  engaged  she  has 
for  some  years  been  my  invaluable  helper."  And, 
speaking  evidently  under  deep  emotion,  and  with 
tears  standing  in  his  eyes,  he  added,  "I  don't  know 
how  I  shall  get  on  in  the  work,  I  don't  know    how  I 


EXTENSION ;  OR,  THE  GUIDING  HAND  OF  GOD. 


327 


shall  live  without  her;  but  the  Lord  Jesus  has  called 
my   daughter    to    China,    and    I   have   nothing   too 
precious  for  my  Jesus." 
So  she  went. 

During  her  first  year  in  China,  Miss  Parker 
worked  hard  at  the  language,  praying  meanwhile 
much  for  her  teacher,  whom  she  had  the  joy  of  bring- 
ing to  the  Lord  before  she  had  been  many  months  in 
the  country.  Others,  also,  were  brought  in  through 
her  life,  her  prayers  and  her  message.  Everyone 
loved  her,  fellow-missionaries  and  natives  alike.  But 
during  her  second  year  she  was  seized  with  a  violent 
attack  of  fever,  was  lovingly  nursed  by  fellow-mis- 
sionaries, but  was  unable  to  rally,  and  went  home  to 
be  with  Christ. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Taylor  heard  of  it,  his  first  thought 
was  of  her  father,  whose  whole  life  seemed  bound  up 
in  his  child.  With  deep  sympathy,  and  as  tenderly  as 
possible,  Mr.  Taylor  ^^Tote  and  told  him  the  sad  news. 
In  reply  he  received  a  characteristic  letter:  ''The 
Lord  Jesus  wanted  my  daughter  for  China.  You 
know  what  it  cost,  but  I  gave  her  gladly.  I  could  not 
withhold  her  from  Him.  And  now  lie  has  called 
Susie  to  be  with  Himself.  All  I  can  say  is,  it  is  well; 
I  would  not  keep  her  back  from  Him.  I  have  noth- 
ing too  precious  for  my  Jesus. 

The  first  American  party  were  very  gladly  wel- 
comed in  China.  Sad  news,  however,  awaited  Mr. 
Taylor  on  his  arrival.  Two  most  valued  missionaries 
had  passed  away:   the  one,  Adam  Dorward,  who  had 


328  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

been  striving  heroically  for  years  in  the  face  of  sick- 
ness and  danger  and  riot,  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  hos- 
tile Hu-nan;  and  the  other,  Herbert  ISTorris,  the  boys' 
headmaster  at  Chefoo.  The  latter,  moreover,  had 
died  of  hydrophobia,  from  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog,  re- 
ceived while  protecting  the  boys.  A  few  days  later 
came  the  news  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Sayers,  and  soon 
after,  that  Miss  Barrett  also  was  dying.  This  was 
sad  news,  indeed,  for  Mr.  Taylor.  Stncken  in  spirit, 
he  wrote:  ^'Soon  after  we  learned  of  the  sickness  and 
removal  of  some  of  our  leading  native  helpers,  of 
trials  in  the  way  of  persecution,  and  of  defection  too. 
Then  the  daughter  of  beloved  Mr.  Stevenson,  my  co- 
worker, was  taken  seriously  ill.  Mr.  Eason,  also, 
who  had  just  returned  from  furlough,  took  typhoid 
fever,  and  a  second  and  a  third  in  the  house  de- 
veloped it  at  the  same  time  and  were  brought  low. 
AVe  could  not  understand  the  Lord's  dealings,  but  we 
knew  it  was  our  Father's  hand,  and  felt  that  perhaps 
He  was  giving  us  these  sorrows  lest  we  be  lifted  up 
by  the  blessings  of  the  year,  which  had  been  very 
great.  .  .  .  The  spiritual  tone  of  the  Mission  is 
higher  than  ever  before." 

During  the  year  in  which  this  American  party 
reached  China,  in  spite  of  much  to  discourage,  thir- 
teen new  stations  were  opened  in  different  parts  of 
the  country,  and  nearly  five  hundred  converts  were 
added  to  the  Lord.  In  Ho-nan,  moreover,  a  consider- 
able amount  of  relief  work  had  been  undertaken  in  a 
large  district  which  had  been  inundated  by  the  Yel- 


C.    I.    M.    HEADQUARTERS    IN    LONDON. 


extension;  or,  the  guiding  hand  of  god.    329 

low  river,  with  the  result  of  diminishing  decidedly 
the  bitter  hostility  of  the  Ho-nanese. 

Some  of  the  native  Christians,  moreover,  had  given 
great  encouragement,  standing  faithful  under  perse- 
cution, preaching  boldly  to  their  neighbors,  and  even 
opening  out-stations  unaided  in  jjlaces  never  visited 
by  foreigners. 

This  was  in  1888:  in  the  spring  of  the  following 
year  Mr.  Taylor  had  to  return  to  England.  And  ere 
long  a  large  new  house  was  obtained  near  the  old 
headquarters  in  London,  Inglesby  House,  which  was 
much  needed  as  a  home  for  receiving  and  testing 
young  men  who  offered  for  the  work.  At  the  same 
time  two  houses,  equally  near,  were  secured  as  a 
Ladies'  Training  Home,  of  which  a  gifted  and  experi- 
enced worker,  Miss  Soltau,  became  Superintendent. 
At  this  time,  also,  a  Ladies'  Council  was  formed,  of 
which  Miss  Soltau  was  the  Secretai-y.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  an  Auxiliary  Council  was  formed  in 
Scotland,  to  test  and  report  upon  candidates  who  ap- 
plied from  north  of  the  Tweed. 

The  month  of  JS^ovember  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor 
spent  in  Scandinavia,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Howard 
Taylor — Pastor  Holmgren,  who  had  long  been  inter- 
ested in  the  Mission,  making  all  the  arrangements 
with  much  kindness  and  ability,  and  acting  as  inter- 
preter. 

The  heartiest  possible  welcome  was  accorded  Mr. 
Taylor  in  Sweden  and  Norway  and  Denmark,  and 


330  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

that  by  all  classes.  Even  the  Queen  Sophia  herself, 
a  most  spiritual  and  consecrated  Christian,  invited 
Mr.  Taylor  to  a  private  audience  on  one  of  the  five 
days  spent  in  Stockholm.  A  large  number  of  meet- 
ings were  held  in  twenty-four  different  centers,  and 
especially  among  the  more  evangelical  Christians  in- 
terest was  deepened  in  missionary  work.  Already  we 
had  received  one  or  two  workers  from  Sweden. 
These,  from  now  onwards,  were  reenforced  by  others, 
who  were  formed  into  a  branch  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  called  the  "Swedish  Mission  in  China,''  with 
Pastor  Holmgren  as  its  Secretary  and  several  godly 
and  distinguished  gentlemen  as  the  Home  Council. 
Their  workers  were  drawn  principally  from  cultured 
circles,  most  of  the  men  having  had  a  thorough  uni- 
versity training.  And  the  funds  for  the  work  have, 
from  the  first,  been  entirely  separate.  (In  this  par- 
ticular it  has  been  unlike  the  i^ortli  American  branch 
of  the  Mission,  which  has  been  financially,  as  well  as 
in  every  other  respect,  an  integral  part  of  the  Mis- 
sion. 

In  the  following  year,  1890,  a  similar  branch  of 
the  work  arose  in  Germany,  with  its  headquarters  at 
Barmen,  in  the  Rhineland,  and  was  called  the  "Ger- 
man Alliance  Mission."  Three  workers  joined 
the  Mission  also  from  the  Free  Church  of  Finland 
during  the  next  three  years. 

All  this  time  the  heart  of  Mr.  Taylor  was  greatly 
burdened  about  the  unreached  millions  of  China. 
And  in  October,  18 SO,  during  a  brief  season  of  rest 


extension;  or,  the  guiding  hand  of  god.    331 

at  the  seaside  at  Hastings,  England,  he  wrote  a  little 
paper  on  the  words  of  Christ,  'To  every  creature. '^ 
Pie  had  pondered  and  prayed  over  these  words. 
Did  the  Lord  really  mean  what  He  said?  He  was 
convinced  He  did.  "Were  the  government  of  Eng- 
land," he  wrote,  ''to  determine  upon  the  conquest  of 
a  distant  country,  they  would  think  it  a  small  matter 
to  land  ten  thousand  troops  on  any  part  of  the  world's 
circumference. 

'^li,  in  addition  to  the  workers  now  in  the  field, 
one  thousand  whole-hearted  evangelists  .  .  .  were 
set  free,  and  kept  free,  for  this  especial  work,  they 
might  reach  the  whole  number  of  China's  millions 
before  the  end  of  1S95;  and  this,  allowing  two  yoar.s 
for  the  study  of  the  language  and  preparation  for  the. 
work."  Mr.  Taylor  then  went  on  to  give  figures  in 
proof.  "Shall  an  undertaking  which  a  thousand 

men  and  women  might  accomplish  in  three  years  of 
steady  work,  after  two  years  of  preparation,  be 
thought  chimerical  and  beyond  the  resources  of  the 
Church  of  Christ?" 

A  few  months  later,  in  ]\Iay,  1890,  the  second 
General  Missionary  Conference  in  China  gathered  at 
Shanghai,  including  representatives  of  all  the  prin- 
cipal Missionary  Boards.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
Conference  they  drew  up  a  very  striking  appeal. 
With  intense  earnestness  they  asked  the  home 
churches  to  provide  a  thousand  workers  for  China 
during  the  next  five  years.  ''We  make  this  appeal," 
they  wrote,  '^on  behalf  of  three  hundred  millions  of 


332  THESE  FORTY  YEABS. 

unevangelized  heathen.  We  make  it  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  our  whole  hearts^  as  men  overwhelmed 
with  the  magnitude  and  responsibility  of  the  work.'^ 

In  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  1891,  the  Scan- 
dinavian Christians  of  the  United  States  equipped 
and  sent  out  a  pai-ty  of  fifty  missionaries  as  a  partial 
response  to  this  double  appeal.  To  them  reference 
will  be  made  again  later. 

Meanwhile,  the  work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 
was  steadily  increasing.  Commodious  premises  had 
been  built  for  the  headquarters  in  Shanghai,  the  gen- 
erous gift  of  one  of  its  members,  who  provided  both 
land  and  funds  for  building.  The  new  Home  was 
opened  and  dedicated  shortly  before  this  General 
Conference.  And  during  the  meeting  the  new  prem- 
ises were  crowded,  spacious  though  they  were,  with 
missionaries,  most  of  them  belonging  to  the  China 
Inland  Mission.  Next  spring  it  was  crowded  again 
with  the  fifty  Scandinavian  workers,  in  addition  to 
the  regular  staff  in  Shanghai  and  such  members  of 
the  Mission  as  happened  to  be  there,  coming  or  go- 
ing. In  the  matter  of  this  beautiful  Home,  God^s 
provision  was,  as  always,  in  good  time. 

About  the  time  of  this  Conference  there  arrived  in 
China  a  young  Episcopal  clergyman,  the  Rev.  C. 
Parsons,  the  first  of  many  members  to  join  the  Mis- 
sion from  Australia.  Shortly  before  his  sailing  for 
China  the  Lord  had  laid  it  upon  his  heart  and  that 
of  three  prominent  ministers — Episcopal,  Presby- 
terian and  Baptist — that  Australia  ought  to  do  some- 


extension;  or,  the  guiding  hand  of  god.    333 

thing  for  the  evangelization  of  her  near  neighhors 
in  CJhina. 

As  a  resnlt  of  their  conversation  together,  an  ear- 
nest invitation  was  sent  to  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  giv- 
ing their  names  and  those  of  others  interested,  and 
earnestly  nrging  him  to  pay  a  visit  to  Australia. 
Meanwhile,  Miss  Mary  Reed,  whose  health  had  given 
way  in  China,  held  a  series  of  drawing-room  and 
other  meetings  in  Melbourne  and  elsewhere,  whloli 
were  largely  attended,  and  a  very  deep  interest  was 
awakened  in  the  hearts  of  many. 

About  midsummer,  1890,  Mr.  Taylor  was  free  to 
go.  He  arrived  in  July,  and  spent  four  months  in 
Australia,  holding  meetings  in  the  principal  colonies. 
Blessing  to  many  of  the  churches  resulted,  and  a  still 
deeper  interest  in  C'hina  and  its  imevangelized  mil- 
lions: many  agreeing  to  unite  in  prayer  with  Mr. 
Taylor  for  a  hundred  tvorJcers  from  Australasia. 

Nine  years  later,  in  1899,  in  response  to  many 
cordial  invitations,  Mr.  Taylor  paid  them  a  second 
visit.  On  his  arrival  in  Brisbane  he  was  met  by  the 
news  that  the  last  of  the  hundred  had  crossed  him 
on  the  Avay.  Thus,  before  he  could  reach  Australia 
the  second  time,  the  prayer  of  many  had  been  an- 
swered to  the  letter. 

In  1890,  a  Council  was  formed  in  Melbourne,  with 
corresponding  members  in  adjacent  colonies:  and 
later.  Auxiliary  Councils  were  started  in  Adelaide, 
Sydney,  Brisbane,  and  at  Auckland  and  Duuedin,  in 
New  Zealand,  by  whose  means  interest  was  main- 


334  THERE    FORTY    YEARS. 

tained  and  workers  selected  and  sent  forth.  For  the 
support  of  these  workers  funds  have  been  provided 
ahnost  entirely  from  Australasia :  though  occasionally 
it  has  been  necessary  to  supplement  them  from  the 
General  Fund. 

Thus,  by  God's  blessing,  the  work  has  steadily  ex- 
panded. 


PART   III. 

conclusion:  recent  years 


CHAPTER    I. 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY. 

By  the  blessing  of  God,  the  roeeiit  liistory  of  tlie 
Mission  has  been  charnotei-ized  by  steady  growth  in 
numbers  and  regular  extension  on  the  field.  To  this 
an  intermission  occurred,  of  course,  during  the  time 
of  the  ^'Boxer"  uprising.  In  1892  its  membership 
consisted  of  about  four  hundred  and  seventy  men 
and  women,  ^ow,  at  the  end  of  1902,  there  are 
about  eiglit  hundred.  And,  besides  this  net  increase 
of  three  hundred  and  thirty,  we  must  remember  one 
hundred  and  twenty  who,  during  this  decade,  have 
been  called  to  their  reward,  including  sixty-one  who 
entered  into  rest  through  the  fiery  portal  of 
martyrdom. 

This  would  give  a  total  of  four  liundred  and  fifty 
new  members  in  tlio  last  ten  years:  or,  more  cor- 
rectly, allowing  for  those  who  for  various  reasons, 
including  failure  of  health,  have  not  been  able  to 
continue  in  the  work,  about  five  hundred.  How 
much  this  addition  has  involved  of  devotion  to  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  of  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  parents 
and  friends,  of  donors,  and  of  the  missionaries  them- 
selves, the  last  day  alone  will  reveal. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  here  that 
the  mortality  among  the  members  of  the  Mission 
22  ^  337 


338  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

from  natural  causes  has  been  at  a  very  low  rate, 
many  years  as  low  as  ten  per  thousand,  or  lower. 
And  when  the  sub-tropical  climate,  and  the  people's 
utter  disregard  of  sanitation,  are  borne  in  mind,  with 
all  the  other  adverse  surroundings  of  missionary  life 
in  the  interior,  it  will  be  seen  that  this  low  death- 
rate  is  indeed  a  cause  for  profound  gratitude  to  God. 

Shortly  before  this  last  decade  commenced,  in  the 
year  1891,  a  missionary  movement  arose  among  the 
Scandinavian  churches  of  America.  Evangelist 
Fransen,  a  man  full  of  spiritual  power,  was  the 
means  used  to  bring  about  the  revival.  He  visited 
the  churches,  preached  clearly  and  definitely  on  the 
obvious  duty  of  obedience  to  the  Lord's  command  to 
evangelize  the  nations,  and  called  forth  the  fifty 
missionaries,  to  whom  reference  has  already  been 
made.  The  same  year  they  went  out  to  China  in 
two  parties  of  thirty-five  and  fifteen,  being  supported 
by  the  churches  to  which  they  belonged. 

Within  a  few  hours  of  their  landing,  bright  sunny- 
faced  men  and  women,  they  were  arrayed  in  Chinese 
costume,  and  soon  they  were  hard  at  work  on  the 
"Primer"  under  Mr.  Bailer's  able  and  genial  tuition! 
Xot  long  after  they  went  inland,  the  majority  to 
l^Torth  China.  Most  of  them  settled  eventually  on 
the  Si-an  plain  in  Shen-si,  or  on  the  borders  of  Mon- 
golia in  North  Shan-si. 

Two  and  a  half  years  from  that  first  memorable 
arrival — thirty-five  strong,  guitars  in  hand,  and  al- 
most unannounced — Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  paid  a  wel- 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  339 

come  visit  to  them,  and  to  other  missionaries  in  the 
northern  provinces,  to  confer  about  important  ques- 
tions of  method,  and  to  strengthen  their  hands  in 
the  work. 

At  the  time  when  this  visitation  was  decided  upon, 
the  writer  and  his  bride  were  away  on  a  liouseboat 
in  Cheh-kiang,  visiting  two  of  the  oklost  centers  of 
the  Mission.  On  their  return  to  Slianghai,  after  three 
weeks'  absence,  what  was  their  surprise  to  learn  that 
during  this  brief  interval  Mr.  Taylor  had  considered, 
decided  and  started  on  this  journey. 

But  to  take  such  a  journey — of  four  months,  in 
the  summer — at  Mr.  Taylor's  age  was,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  perilous!  The  same  day  bride  and  groom 
started  up  river  for  Han-kow,  hoping  to  overtake  Mr. 
Taylor.  How  they  prayed  that  he  might  still  be 
there  when  they  arrived!  And  he  was.  Every  argu- 
ment was  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  that  journey. 
Anyone  who  knows  the  hardship  and  physical  danger 
involved  by  such  a  tour,  all  through  the  summer, 
^11  realize  how  much  there  was  to  say  in  favor  of 
at  least  postponing  the  trip.  But  to  the  Director  of 
the  Mission  the  line  of  duty  was  clear.  ''We  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  And  that 
settled  the  question. 

Then,  might  his  son  and  daughter  go  with  him, 
and  do  what  they  could  to  lighten  the  load  of  respon- 
sibility in  meetings,  and  to  help  by  the  way?  This 
request  being  granted,  on  May  22nd,  1894,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Hudson   Taylor,   their  son-in-law,   Mr.   J.   J. 


340  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Coulthard,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Howard  Taylor  started 
on  that  long  inland  journey. 

Native  boats  took  them  a  day's  .trip  across  the 
swampy  country  behind  Han-kow,  always  flooded  in 
summer  from  the  melting  of  Thibetan  snows,  and 
then  a  two  weeks'  barrow  ride  completed  the  first 
stage  of  the  journey,  to  the  heart  of  Ho-nan. 

Happily,  those  wheelbarrows  were  large  and  com- 
modious "sociables,"  intended  for  two:  which  was  a 
great  satisfaction  to  several  members  of  the  party. 
A  coolie  in  front  pulls  by  two  handles,  with  a  stout 
canvas  strap  across  his  shoulders  to  steady  the 
weight,  and  another  coolie,  with  similar  strap  and 
handles,  pushes  behind.  A  strong  wheel  in  the  center 
supports  the  machine  and  throws  up  dust  in  the  faces 
of  the  travelers — who  ride  backward,  side  by  side — 
blinding,  suffocating,  almost  burying  the  victims! 
The  road  is  just  a  rough  foot-track,  not  made,  but 
simply  worn  by  barrow  wheels  and  coolies'  feet.  In 
spite  of  a  total  absence  of  springs,  and  the  rugged  and 
often  rocky  road;  in  spite  of  the  long  hours,  from 
4  A.  M.  till  7  or  8  P.  M.,  tliese  wheelbarrows  are 
not  nearly  so  uncomfortable  as  might  be  supposed, 
especially  under  certain  circumstances  and  when  well 
padded  with  Chinese  bedding. 

A  few  days  were  now  spent  in  Clieo-kia-k'eo,  the 
oldest  station  in  Ho-nan.  The  native  Christians 
naturally  were  greatly  delighted  to  welcome  Mr. 
Hudson  Taylor  on  this,  his  first,  visit  to  the  province. 
In  addition  to  the  public  welcome  of  the  church, 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  341 

many  individual  acts  of  kindness  and  sympathy  ^vill 
long  be  remembered.  Dear  old  Mr.  Ch'en  prepared 
with  his  own  hands  some  delicious,  savory  hashes, 
native  concoctions  of  mutton  and  pork,  sufficiently 
salt  to  keep;  one  special  jar,  being  entirely  free 
from  pepper  or  spices,  for  the  private  consumption 
of  Mr.  Taylor  himself!  Many  a  time,  on  the  road, 
were  the  travelers  thankful  for  his  thoughtful  pro- 
vision. 

One  of  the  Christians  at  this  station  came  to  his 
pastor,  some  months  later,  saying,  ^'I  am  deeply 
grieved  to  hear  of  Mr.  Taylor's  delicate  health,  and 
I  have  just  been  transacting  an  important  matter  with 
the  Lord.  I  want  you  to  know  about  it,  as  my  pastor, 
in  case  anything  should  happen  suddenly  to  me.  1 
am  not  an  old  man  yet,  might  have,  perhaps,  ten 
}'ears  more  to  live ;  but  my  life  is  of  no  consequence, 
and  I  have  asked  the  Lord  to  take  these  years  and 
add  them  on  to  dear  Mr.  Taylor's  life."  It  was 
quietly  said,  Avitli  evident  sincerity,  out  of  a  loving 
and  grateful  heart. 

On  the  cart  journey  from  here  to  Si-an,  the  capital 
of  Shen-si,  which  occupied  three  weeks,  the  travelers 
were  delayed  among  the  mountains  by  heavy  rains. 
As  soon  as  the  rivers  had  sufficiently  subsided,  they 
continued  the  journey,  and  had  a  most  providential 
escape  from  serious  accident.  The  carts  came  to  a 
ford  and  were  just  making  ready  to  go  down  into 
the  river,  when  another  vehicle  came  up  b(>liind  and, 
rudely  hurrying  past,  plunged  into  the  stream.     The 


342  THESE   FORTY    YEAES. 

carters  were  indignant  at  this  affront,  contrary  to  all 
the  usages  of  the  road,  and  were  angry  to  the  swear- 
ing point.  They  were  easily  pacified,  however,  by 
the  reminder  that  the  first  cart  to  cross  would  take 
the  measure  of  the  river  and  gauge  the  current  for 
the  rest. 

Down  into  the  rushing  stream  the  heavy  springless 
wagon  plunged,  drawn  by  two  substantial  mules 
driven  tandem.  Higher  and  higher  up  the  wheels 
the  water  crept,  eddying  around  the  spokes  and  rim 
and  soon  about  the  axle.  Still  it  rose,  until  it  nearly 
flooded  the  cart,  the  driver  meanwhile  directing  his 
animals  by  voice  and  by  whip,  for  they  use  no  reins. 
On  the  cart  struggled  through  the  surging  stream, 
until  at  last  it  began  to  rise  out  of  the  water  on  a 
sand  bank  in  the  middle.  They  were  half  way  acrosa. 
And  there  they  stood,  on  dry  ground,  to  rest  the 
panting  animals. 

We  stood  waiting. 

After  a  brief  interval,  down  they  went  on  the 
farther  side  into  the  stream.  Again  the  rushing 
waters  swirled  around  the  wheels  and  body  of  the 
wagon.  Still  they  traveled  laboriously  on,  until  they 
began  to  draw  near  to  the  farther  shore.  Just  then 
the  water  became  deeper,  too  deep  for  the  cart  to  hold 
steady.  It  was  swept  over  on  one  side.  Then  the 
wheels  were  up  in  the  air  and  the  poor  mules  out 
of  sight.  They  were  carried  a  long  way  down  the 
river,  and  thrown  up  on  the  further  bank.  Strange 
to  say,  no  one  was  seriously  the  worse  for  the  duck- 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  343 

ing,  not  even  the  sick  man  who  was  lying  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  cart!  Surely,  the  Lord  must  iiave  heard 
our  prayers  for  them.  Fifty  ounces  of  silver  wore 
lost  and  some  thousands  of  cash,  but  nothing  else  of 
much  consequence.  Wo  wont  some  miles  further  up 
the  river  and  crossed  by  ferry. 

At  Si-an  a  busy  week  of  conference  followed, 
which  would  have  been  a  time  of  unmixed  happiness, 
as  it  was  of  blessing,  had  it  not  been  for  the  knowl- 
edge that  Mrs.  Botham  was  lying  at  the  point  of 
death,  four  stages  to  the  west.  How  much  her  life 
meant  to  the  party  gathered  there  we  must  pause  a 
moment  to  recall. 

Seven  years  before,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Botham  had 
gone  up  to  work  on  the  Si-an  plain.    Previous  to  their 
arrival  all  efforts  to  open  a  station  had  been  in  vam. 
So  their  plan  of  campaign  was  as  follows:     They 
would  visit  a  city,  put  up  at  an  inn  and  stay  for  two 
or  three  days,  or  as  long  as  all  was  quiet  and  friendly, 
preaching  the  Gospel  and  selling  tracts  and  Scrip- 
tures.    As  soon  as  they  began  to  be  persecuted,  ac- 
cording to  the  Lord's  injunction,  they  fled  to  another 
city.     But  they  fled  in  a  circle!     And  in  this  way, 
visiting  fifteen  or  twenty  cities,  they  made  a  circuit 
of  the  plain.     How  much  discomfort  and  sacrifice 
this  all  involved  can  be  imagined.     They  were  the 
right  kind  of  pioneers.  ^^ 

"Never  in  my  life  have  I  been  more  happy,  wrote 
Botham,  ^'than  when  traveling  thus  on  this  plain, 
with  my  wife  on  one  donkey  and  all  our  worldly  pos- 


344  THESE    FOETY    YEAES. 

sessions  on  another."  After  years  of  patient  effort^ 
they  at  last  succeeded  in  opening  Feng-siang,  a  per- 
fectual  city.  Other  pioneers  had  joined  them  mean- 
while, including  Messrs.  Bland  and  Redfern,  kindred 
spirits  with  themselves;  and  in  May,  1892,  their  long 
labors  were  crowned  with  success.  "In  one  month 
houses  Avere  rented  in  five  places,"  including  the 
capital,  Si-an.  Public  suspicion  had  been  allayed  by 
these  repeated  visits  on  which  no  harm,  but  only  good 
was  done.  One  after  another  fresh  stations  were 
opened,  until  the  most  important  cities  on  the  plain 
were  occupied.  The  Swedish  brethren  had  a  large 
sliare  in  opening  these  stations. 

The  opening  of  Si-an  was  specially  interesting. 
Holman,  one  of  the  fifty,  an  earnest,  spiritually- 
minded  fellow,  put  up  at  an  inn,  and  set  to  work 
quietty,  preaching  the  Gospel  and  making  friends. 
About  this  time  another  foreigner  who  came  to  the 
city  asked  Holman:  "Was  it  not  a  mistake  for  him 
to  come  to  iliat  city?  The  people  needed  to  be  caught 
with  guile.  If  we  taught  them  astronomy,  and 
mathematics  and  science,  we  might  gradually  interest 
them  and  bring  in  more  important  things."  . 
But  Holman,  undiscouraged,  referred  the  question  to 
the  Lord.  He  went  on  with  his  work,  and  ere  long, 
by  God's  blessing,  he  had  secured  a  house. 

Some  of  the  leading  citizens  heard  of  it,  and  came 
with  a  rabble  to  turn  him  out.  Holman  received 
them  as  befitted  gentlemen,  and  after  the  usual  for- 
malities, took  up  his  guitar  and  sang  to  them  some 


A   MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  345 

of  the  sweet  songs  of  the  Kingdom.  They  were  de- 
lighted at  his  courtesy  and  cordiality,  and  completely 
won.  So  the  first  station  in  that  ancient  capital  of  the 
empire  was  opened,  and  kept  open  by  the  hand  of 
God. 

On  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Taylor's  party  at  Si-an,  on 
Tuesday  evening,  June  26th,  they  were  infoi-med  of 
the  critical  condition  of  Mr^.  Bothani.  Innucdiately 
it  was  made  the  subject  of  earnest  prayer  to  God. 
He  was  reminded  how  precious  her  life  was  to  them, 
and  to  the  cause;  and  united  request  was  made  that 
she  might  be  spared  and  restored  to  health.  Dr. 
Howard  Taylor  went  across  to  Feng-siang:  and  was 
prospered  by  the  way,  accomplishing  the  four  thirty- 
mile  stages  in  three  days.  But  the  Lord  Himself  had 
been  there  first,  and  when  the  doctor  arrived  ^Irs. 
Bothani  was  already  well! 

On  the  Tuesday  evening,  at  the  time  wiien  united 
prayer  began  to  be  made  at  Si-an,  hope  was  well  uifih 
gone.  For  seventy-two  hours  Mrs.  Bothani  had  been 
unable  to  sleep,  the  fever  continuing  high;  and  mut- 
tering delirium,  that  beginning  of  the  end,  was  su- 
pervening. But  that  evening  the  j)atient  fell  into  a 
quiet  slumber,  rested  peacefully  all  night,  and  awoke 
in  the  morning  with  a  sigh  of  relief:  ''Oh,  I  do  feel 
60  much  better!"  The  fever  was  gone,  the  restless- 
ness had  passed  away,  and  Mrs.  Bothani  made  unin- 
terrupted convalescence. 

Dr.  Howard  Taylor  spent  a  delightful  Sunday 
with  the  Bothams  and  returned  to  join  the  party. 


346  THESE  FOETY  YEARS. 

They,  meanwhile,  had  concluded  the  Conference,  in 
which  twenty  missionaries  took  part,  and  started  for 
Yuin-ch'eng,  in  South  Shan-si,  the  center  of  a  large 
salt-producing  district,  and  also  of  the  government 
monopoly  for  its  sale  over  the  extensive  area.  This 
influential  city  is  important  also  in  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  as  being  the  headquarters  of  its  older  Scan- 
dinavian branch — the  "Swedish  Mission  in  China,'' 
with  which  we  are  already  acquainted. 

The  heat  was  sultry  and  very  oppressive  on  that 
week's  journey  from  Si-an,  often  as  high  as  120  de- 
grees in  the  carts!  And  when  Mr.  Taylor  arrived, 
about  noon  on  July  17th,  he  was  seriously  ill  in  con- 
sequence. A  long  drought  made  the  heat  unusually 
trying  on  these  dusty  roads.  Dr.  Howard  Taylor 
was  now  only  half  a  day  behind,  and  just  as  he 
reached  the  city  that  evening  rain  began  to  fall,  and 
soon  fell  heavily,  an  answer  to  many  prayers.  By 
the  blessing  of  God,  the  medical  treatment  adopted 
was  soon  successful,  and  after  a  day  or  two  of  rest, 
Mr,  Taylor  had  a  time  of  conference  with  about 
twenty  members  of  the  "Swedish  Mission"  at  this 
station. 

The  next  point  on  the  tour  was  P'ing-yang,  the 
principal  governing  center  in  southern  Shan-si.  This 
section  of  the  journey  and  several  that  followed  were 
taken  by  night,  to  avoid  the  heat.  Kather  more  than 
half  way  to  P'ing-yang,  a  brief  stay  was  made  at 
K'uh-wu,  an  important  station  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan  Kay,  two  lovely  and  very  sue- 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  347 

cessful  missionaries,  who,  sad  to  say,  were  martyred 
in  1900. 

About  midnight,  on  one  stage  of  this  section^  the 
sleeping  travelers  were  awakened  by  their  carts  sud- 
denly stopping  and  by  voices  in  the  darkness.  Rous- 
ing themselves,  they  saw  two  tall  figures  by  the  road- 
side. The  voice  of  one  was  surely  that  of  Mr.  Iloste  ? 
So  it  proved.  And  his  companion  was  none  other 
than  Pastor  Hsi,  that  blessed  man  of  God,  who  was 
so  greatly  used  among  his  fellow-countrymen  in  this 
and  neighboring  provinces,  and  whose  life-story  in 
two  volumes  is  just  being  completed.*  They  had 
come  out  a  good  many  miles  from  P'ing-yang  to  greet 
and  welcome  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  and  his  companions. 

The  conference  which  followed  at  P'ing-yang  was 
a  time  of  great  refreshment,  and  was  marked  by 
three  rather  remarkable  answers  to  prayer,  which 
greatly  encouraged  the  hearts  of  the  thirty-five 
workers  who  were  present. 

A  visit  to  Pastor  Hsi's  home  followed.  The  good 
man  did  everything  in  his  power,  lavishing  money 
and  affection  in  the  endeavor  to  express  his  gratitude 
to  Mr.  Taylor  for  what  he  had  done  for  his  country 
and  for  himself.  It  was  a  memorable  visit  in  a  godly 
and  cultured  home — the  center  of  all  the  opium  ref- 
uge work  carried  on  by  Pastor  Hsi  at  forty-five  sta- 


*"One  of  China's  Scholars"  and  "One  of  China's  Chris- 
tians," by  Mrs.  Howard  Taylor.  The  latter  is  almost  ready 
for  publication,  and  may  be  ordered  from  the  offices  of  the 
Mission  at  Philadelphia  or  Toronto. 


348  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

tions  in  no  less  than  five  different  provinces — an  ag- 
gressive I^ative  Missionary  Society,  with  a  one-man 
directorate. 

At  P'ing-yang  Miss  Brooinhall  and  Mr.  Hoste, 
who  had  recently  become  engaged,  joined  the  party. 
Brief  visits  were  paid  at  Hung-tung,  Mr.  Hoste's  own 
station,  and  at  Hoh-chaii,  where  the  work  was  under 
the  charge  of  lady  missionaries,  very  appropriately, 
since  the  station  had  been  opened  some  years  before, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  devotion  of  Mrs.  Hsi. 

Midw^ay  between  these  two  cities  was  the  out-sta- 
tion of  Chao-ch'eng,  now  a  full  station  under  the 
charge  of  Ernest  Taylor,  Mr.  Taylor's  youngest  son. 
Here,  dear  old  Elder  Song  was  in  charge,  and  a  large 
courtyard,  full  of  bright  and  happy  faces,  were 
gathered  to  welcome  Mr.  Taylor.  Kealizing  that  the 
opium  refuge  had  been  the  starting  point  of  the  work, 
Mr.  Song  was  asked:  "Have  any  of  these  happy, 
hearty-looking  Christians  ever  been  opium  smokers?" 
He  looked  up  with  some  surprise.  "I  don't  quite 
understand  you."  The  question  was  repeated. 
"Why,"  he  said,  ^'they  were  all  of  them  opium  smok- 
ers, every  one."  And  there  they  were,  two  hundred 
hearty,  sunshiny  men,  attesting  more  eloquently  than 
words  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  to  save,  even  when 
all  other  hope  is  gone. 

Several  more  stations  were  passed  on  the  way  north 
to  T'ai-yuan,  the  capital  of  Shan-si,  where  more 
meetings  followed,  in  the  hospitable  home  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Edwards. 


A    MEMORABLE    JOURNEY.  349 

From  here  eastward,  the  journey  to  tlie  coast  was 
made  by  "mule  litters"  as  far  as  Pao-ting  Vu,  tlio  cap- 
ital of  C'hih-li.  This  method  of  travel  was  certainly 
novel.  A  long  Saratoga  trunk,  or  something  closely 
resembling  one,  has  a  hole  cut  out  on  either  side,  half 
a  yard  square  for  the  "door"  and  a  foot  square  for  the 
window.  This  lightly-constructed  box  is  firmly  at- 
tached to  two  long  poles  on  which  it  is  carried,  sedan- 
chair  fashion,  by  two  hardy  mules.  How  does  one 
get  in? — the  passenger  wonders.  After  a  while  he 
learns  to  get  in  backwards,  limbs  and  head  last,  like  a 
hermit-crab,  and  to  take  his  seat  at  one  end  on  a 
couple  of  short  planks.  Facing  him  at  the  other  end, 
his  fellow-traveler  will  be  seated,  their  knees  almost 
touching.  Bedding  does  duty  for  cushions,  and  bag- 
gage goes  under  the  seats. 

It  will  not  be  supposed  that  tlie  litter  is  fastened 
to  the  mules  in  any  way.  Saddles  from  which  a  spike 
stands  up,  are  thrown  across  their  shoulders,  a  stout 
leather  strap,  with  a  hole  for  the  spike,  goes  across 
the  saddle,  and  by  this  strap  the  eiids  of  the  poles 
are  carried.  After  the  passengers  are  seated,  the 
whole  concern  is  lifted  by  four  or  six  men  on  to  the 
backs  of  the  mules.  The  saddles,  however,  are  merely 
laid  across  the  backs  of  the  animals,  and  have  no 
girths,  or  anything  that  might  impede  their  falling  off 
if  the  animals  stumble.  The  litter  simply  rolls  over, 
and  the  mules  are  usually  none  the  worse.  The  hapless 
passengers  do  the  best  they  can,  but  are  not  taken 
into  account  in  this  arrangement ! 


350  THESE   FOBTY   YEAES. 

At  this  stage  of  the  journey  a  delightful  visit  was 
paid  at  Sheo-yang,  high  up  among  the  mountains, 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  "W.  Pigott — noble,  devoted  mis- 
sionaries— ^who  were  among  those  beheaded  six  years 
later  at  T'ai-yuan. 

From  Pao-ting  Pu  to  T'ien-tsin,  the  port  of  Pekin, 
the  last  three  days  of  the  journey  were  by  house-boat, 
the  cool  restfulness  of  which  was  greatly  appreciated, 
after  the  hot  overland  travel.  They  arrived  at 

T'ien-tsin  early  in  September,  and  a  day  or  two  later 
a  very  interesting  event  took  place  at  the.  British 
consulate!  Miss  Broomhall  and  Mr.  Hoste  were 
united  in  marriage.  Shortly  afterwards  they  re- 
turned to  Shan-si. 

Prom  T'ien-tsin,  after  a  brief  visit  to  Shanghai, 
Mr.  Taylor  again  went  inland  on  a  shorter  journey, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Russell.  And  Mr.  Coulthard 
and  the  Howard  Taylors  returned  to  their  sphere  of 
service  in  the  province  of  Ho-nan. 


CHAPTER    11. 


LIGHT    AND    SHADE. 

The  last  decade  of  the  work  lias  been  full  of  vicis- 
situdes. It  opened  with  tokens  of  divine  approval 
and  blessing,  and  at  its  close  there  is  much  cause  for 
encouragement.  We  shall  tell  of  the  latter  in  the 
concluding  chapters.  A  few  details  of  the  former 
may  be  given  here. 

The  year  1892  had  been  one  of  unprecedented  suc- 
cess, judged  by  numerical  results.  This  was  so,  not- 
withstanding an  unusually  low  exchequer.  During 
the  previous  three  years  the  funds  from  England, 
the  largest  source  of  income,  had  been  steadily  dimin- 
ishing, in  all  by  15  per  cent.  This  was  in  part  com- 
pensated for  by  a  more  favorable  rate  of  exchange, 
consequent  on  a  fall  in  the  price  of  silver;  and  in 
part  by  increasing  gifts  from  America  and  Australia, 
as  well  as  from  friends  in  China  itself. 

It  had  been  a  year,  also,  of  much  sickness:  eight 
out  of  five  hundred  having  laid  down  their  lives, 
which,  though  still  low,  was  considerably  above  the 
usual  percentage.  In  spite  of  these  things,  and  two 
serious  riots  (one  of  them  in  the  far  west,  on  the 
borders  of  Thibet),  more  were  added  to  the  Church 
than  in  any  previous  year.  There  was  much  cause 
for  prayer.     There  was  still  more  reason  for  praise. 

351 


352  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

The  first  of  the  last  ten  years,  1893,  by  God's 
blessing,  was  still  more  suceessful.  In  this  year  eight 
hundred  and  twenty-one  were  added  to  the  Church, 
in  connection  with  the  China  Inland  Mission,  as  com- 
pared with  six  hundred  and  ninety-three  the  year 
before.  And  this  encouraging  improvement  has  not 
only  been  maintained,  but  considerably  increased  in 
more  recent  years.  In  addition  to  this  number  re- 
ceived into  the  Church,  there  were  fully  a  thousand 
more  inquirers  upon  the  rolls  at  the  end  of  1893, 
waiting  for  admission,  than  there  had  been  four 
years  before. 

This  steady  advance  in  numerical  results  is,  of 
course,  easy  to  explain,  and  is  what  one  should  ex- 
pect. Pioneer  work,  as  we  have  seen,  is  necessarily 
slow,  and  consists  largely  in  laying  foundations  upon 
which  the  superstructure  of  organized  churches  may 
be  erected  later.  The  foundations  had  now  been  laid. 
The  right  time  for  building  up  had  come  at  last, 
thank  God! 

A  large  proportion  of  the  baptisms,  for  the  same 
reason,  were  at  the  older  stations,  the  highest  num- 
ber being  in  the  province  of  Cheh-kiang,  where  the 
work  of  the  China  Inland  Mission  commenced.  Next 
to  this  statistically  came  Shan-si  in  the  north,  and 
then  Kiang-si  in  the  south.  The  work  in  eastern  Si- 
ch'uan  under  Mr.  Cassels  (now  Bishop  of  western 
China)  had  also  been  much  owned  of  God. 

The  old  church  at  Hang-chow,  Cheh-kiang,  under 
Pastor  Wang,   and  his  son-in-law,  Pastor  Ken,  to- 


LIGHT    AND    SHADE.  363 

gether  with  tlie  branch  churches  in  neighboring 
towns,  had  now  become  practically  self-supporting. 
And  they  were  getting  along  so  well  under  a  native 
ministry  (with  occasional  foreign  supervision)  that 
the  Mission  was  greatly  encouraged  in  its  efforts  to 
develop  self-sustaining  and  self-extending  churches. 
This  must,  of  course,  be  the  ultimate  aim  of  all  mis- 
sionary work,  as  well  as  its  principal  hope  for  rapid 
increase.  At  T'ai-chau,  in  the  fall  of  1893,  after  a 
hundred  had  been  baptized,  three  hundred  inquirers 
still  remained  on  the  rolls. 

Even  in  hard,  opiimi-besotted  Kan-suh,  the  work 
was  beginning  to  be  more  hopeful. 

This  brings  us  to  1894,  the  year  of  Mr.  Taylor's 
long  journey  through  the  northern  provinces.    There 
was  a  slight  diminution  in  the  total  number  admitted 
to  the   Church.    But  this  did  not  discourage  the 
workers,  as  it  might  have  done,  for  the  diminution 
was  more  than  accounted  for  at  the  one  station  of 
T'ai-chau,    where    bitter    persecution    temporarily 
checked  the   work.    With   this   one   exception   the 
steady  increase  was  maintained.    Strange  to  say,  the 
total  income  this  year  was  8  per  cent,  less  still  than 
the  year  before!     But  by  the  gracious  over-ruling 
Providence  of  God,  this  was  again  compensated  for 
by  further  improvement  in  the  rate  of  exchange. 

By  this  time  another  of  the  older  stations  had  be- 
come self-supporting,  as  far  as  the  native  part  of  the 
work  was  concerned,  eighty  Mexican  dollars  being 

23 


354  THESE    FOETY    YEAES. 

« 

provided  by  the   church   for   the   Chinese  pastor's 
salary,  besides  a  number  of  lesser  contributions. 

With  few  exceptions  the  whole  work  was  encour- 
aging. The  reason  may,  perhaps,  be  found  in  the 
following  words,  from  a  letter  written  at  this  time 
by  Mr.  Taylor:  ''Never  was  there  a  stronger  bond  of 
unity  and  love  in  the  Mission;  never  before  were  so 
many  qualified  for  aggressive  service." 

An  epoch-marking  event  occurred  at  the  close 
of  1894.  November  12th  was  the  sixtieth  birth- 
day of  the  Dowager  Empress,  who  has  since  become 
so  well  known.  In  preparation  for  this  anniversary, 
the  Christian  women  of  China  had  contributed  be- 
tween one  and  two  thousand  dollars,  with  which  was 
produced  a  remarkable  book:  an  edition  of  a  single 
copy  of  the  New  Testament,  in  classical  Chinese.* 
The  book  was  elegantly  printed  in  large  clear  type, 
with  an  ornate  gold  border  around  each  page.  It 
was  bound  in  solid  silver,  elegantly  chased  with 
graceful  sprays  of  bamboo.  A  gold  plate,  in  the 
center  of  the  design,  bore  the  characters  "Holy 
Classic  of  Salvation,"  and  on  the  other  face  of  the 
binding,  a  similar  plate  bore  the  name  of  the  Em-- 
press,  with  a  few  words  of  congratulation.  The  book 
was  enclosed  in  a  handsome  silver  casket,  lined  with 
old  gold  plush,  and  this  was  encased  in  an  elegantly 
carved    teak-wood    box.     It    was   presented    to   the 


♦A  second  edition  was  printed  afterward  from  the  same 
type,  with  a  less  costly  border,  and  handsomely  bound  in 
leather,  in  memory  of  the  occasion. 


LIGHT    AND    SHADE.  3.' 


<)0 


Empress  with  due  ceremony,  by  the  British  and 
American  ambassadors. 

A  few  days  later  the  Emi^eror  sent  an  eunuch  to 
the  American  Bible  Society's  depot,  to  purchase  for 
his  own  use  both  Old  and  New  Testaments.  And  it 
is  related  that,  day  by  day,  a  chapter  was  copied  for 
him  from  the  Gospels  by  a  scribe,  it  being  unusual 
for  a  Chinese  Emperor  to  read  printed  books  (which 
ordinary  mortals  read):  and  obscure  passages  were 
explained  to  his  Majesty  by  a  native  Christian,  whose 
attendance  was  commanded  for  the  purpose.  May 
God  grant  that  the  truths  that  thus  obtained  access, 
not  merely  to  the  palace,  but  to  the  mind  of  the 
Emperor  himself,  may  yet  bring  forth  fruit  in  his 
life,  to  the  great  blessing  of  the  country. 

The  year  which  followed  was  memorable  in  more 
respects  than  one.  When  it  began,  the  war  with 
Japan,  declared  while  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  fellow- 
travelers  were  returning  to  the  coast,  was  at  its 
height.  The  suzerainty  of  Korea,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, was  the  bone  of  contention.  And  peace  was 
not  secured  until  the  middle  of  April,  1895;  peace, 
with  its  most  humiliating  terms  for  China. 

In  the  same  month  of  April,  the  Mohammedans 
of  the  far  northwest,  taking  advantage  of  the  pre- 
occupation of  the  government,  as  they  have  often 
done  in  the  past,  broke  out  in  rebellion.  And  as  a 
result,  the  lives  of  the  Kan-suh  missionaries  were 
in  jeopardy  for  many  months.  To  the  great  credit 
of  China  be  it  recalled  that  all  through  the  Japanese 


,056  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

war  the  lives  and  property  of  foreigners  had  been 
most  carefully  safeguarded  throughout  the  country. 
But  now  the  scanty  imperial  soldiery  were  being 
worsted  by  the  rebels.  The  Chinese  Mohammedans, 
always  unruly,  in  times  of  civil  war  are  the  most 
blood-thirsty  savages.  It  was  a  time  of  peril,  indeed. 
The  worst  trouble  centered  at  and  around  Si-ning, 
not  far  from  the  Thibetan  border. 

In  this  city  were  stationed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kidley 
with  their  little  baby  girl,  and  Mr.  Hall.  "What  shall 
we  do  V  they  cried  to  God,  when  the  revolt  began.  On 
the  one  hand  was  the  utter  ruthlessness  of  the  fierce 
and  fanatical  Moslems,  and  the  imminent  peril  to 
themselves  and  the  sweet  little  babe;  on  the  other 
hand  was  the  work.  Difficult  it  had  been  all  along. 
Should  they  leave  the  little  beginnings  of  a  church? 
Or  should  they  stand  by  it,  and  do  what  they  could, 
niedically  and  surgically,  for  the  wounded  soldiers 
and  the  often  terribly  burned  and  injured  civilians 
who  fled  into  the  city? 

After  much  prayer  they  determined  to  stay,  and 
so  graciously  were  their  hearts  kept  in  peace  that 
during  the  seven  long  months  that  followed,  amid 
all  the  blood-curdling  horrors  of  such  barbarous  war- 
fare, only  once  did  their  hearts  fail  them — though, 
of  course,  it  was  a  time  of  terrible  strain — and  that 
was  when  a  poor  little  infant  was  brought  to  them 
from  a  neighboring  village,  horribly  gashed  by  the 
swords  of  the  vandals.  Mrs.  Eidley,  whose  training 
as  a  nurse  made  her  surgeon-in-chief,   might  well 


LIGHT    AND    SUA  Dp:.  357 

recoil  from  such  a  sight.  After  attending  to  the 
pitiful  little  patient,  Mrs.  llidley  went  alone,  and 
cried  to  God  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

God  heard;  and  comforted  the  mother's  heart  with 
peace,  and  with  the  assurance  that  He  would  protect 
both  the  little  one  and  themselves.  For  seven  long 
months  they  were  besieged,  cut  off  from  communi- 
cation with  the  outside  world:  and  day  by  day,  and 
night  after  night  savage  onslaughts  were  made,  with 
the  awful  prospect  of  the  rebel  soldiers  brealdng 
through  into  the  city.  During  all  this  time  it  was 
impossible,  of  course,  to  send  them  money;  or  rather, 
the  money  that  was  sent  could  not  be  forwarded. 
How  would  God  meet  their  need? 

A  mandarin  called  to  thank  them,  one  day,  for 
all  they  were  doing  for  the  wounded  soldiers,  of 
whom  many  hundreds  had  been  treated,  and  he  was 
surprised  to  notice  his  host  preparing  tea  for  himself. 
Wondering  whether  this  could  possibly  be  the  for- 
eigner's compliment  to  his  official  guest,  he  inquired, 
^^Why  do  you  not  let  your  servant  make  the  tea?" 
Mr.  Kidley  had  to  confess  that  he  had  no  servant. 
"Why,  that  is  too  bad,"  said  the  official.  "I  will 
send  at  once  four  of  my  body-guard  to  serve  you." 
Mr.  Eidley  thanked  him,  and  declined.  ''But  you 
must  have  servants,"  he  said,  with  evident  astonish- 
ment. 'Teople  like  you  are  not  accustomed  to  wait 
upon  yourselves :  and  it  is  a  disgrace  to  our  city  that 
you  should  be  without  help  when  you  are  spending 
all  your  time  and  strength  upon  others!    I  ^vill  send 


358  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

jou  four  soldiers  at  once."  There  was  nothing  for 
it,  then,  but  to  explain :  that,  being  cut  off  from  sup- 
plies, they  could  not  afford  to  keep  servants.  And 
thus  the  official  discovered  how  low  the  exchequer 
had  run.  He  promptly  ordered  a  load  of  wheat  and 
a  supply  of  fuel,  and  sent  several  of  his  own  men 
to  grind  the  grain.  In  this  and  in  other  ways  all 
their  needs  were  met  during  that  trying  time:  and 
they  were  able  to  minister  to  over  two  thousand 
surgical  and  medical  patients,  including  a  large  nmn- 
ber  of  cases  of  diphtheria. 

At  last  the  siege  was  raised,  the  rebellion  put  down, 
and  the  severely  tested  workers  relieved  from  the 
strain.  'Not  till  two  or  three  years  later,  however, 
would  they  leave  that  station  for  furlough.  And  in 
the  interval  they  found,  very  naturally,  the  entire 
attitude  of  the  people  changed.  Such  help,  rendered 
at  such  a  cost,  could  not  but  make  a  profound  impres- 
sion upon  the  ruling  classes  and  the  people. 

This  was  the  second  serious  trouble  in  1895.  The 
third  threatened  to  be  even  more  perilous.  At  the 
end  of  May  a  serious  riot  occurred  at  Ch'eng-tu,  the 
capital  of  Si-ch'uan.  Several  causes  contributed  to 
bring  it  about.  The  widespread  anti-foreign  feeling 
of  the  people  was  at  the  root  of  it.  The  indifference, 
or,  more  probably,  the  open  sympathy  of  the  then 
viceroy  encouraged  it,  and  the  scholarly  classes,  as 
usual,  organized  the  disturbance  behind  the  scenes. 

The  death  of  a  woman  operated  on  in  one  of  the 
Mission  hospitals  seems  to  have  been  the  spark  that 


LIGHT    AND    SHADE.  359 

ignited  tlie  gunpowder.  But  the  mine  was  laid  and 
in  readiness  beforehand.  From  Ch'eng-tu  the  riot- 
ing spread  to  Kia-ting  and  other  neighboring  cities: 
and  continued  spreading  until,  within  ten  days,  it 
had  reached  Pao-ning,  Bishop  Cassels'  center,  at  the 
other  end  of  the  province.  It  seemed  for  a  time  as 
if  every  station  in  Si-ch'uan  would  be  closed.  But 
in  the  midst  of  all  this  trouble  it  was  decreed,  'Thus 
far  and  no  farther."  Not  one  life  was  lost,  and  at 
many  of  the  stations  the  missionaries  were  able  to 
remain,  either  in  hiding  at  the  Yamen  or  under  pro- 
tection at  the  Mission  premises.  Sixty-five,  however, 
had  to  leave  the  province,  and  it  was  several  months 
before  all  the  work  could  be  resumed. 

The  fourth  sad  event  of  the  year  1895  occurred 
on  the  first  of  August.  On  that  day,  at  Ku-ch'eng, 
in  Fuh-kien,  South  China,  the  Kev.  K.  W.  and  Mrs. 
Stewart  and  their  child  and  seven  other  missionaries 
were  suddenly  surrounded  and  murdered  by  vege- 
tarian fanatics.  They  were  most  devoted  workers, 
members  of  the  English  Episcopal  Mission.  This 
terrible  catastrophe  shot  a  pang  of  horror  through 
the  heart  of  Christendom,  and  the  noble  spirit  in 
which  it  was  borne  by  the  relatives  of  the  martyrs 
and  their  fellow-workers — in  the  Church  [Missionary 
Society  and  the  Church  of  England  Zenana  [Mission — 
will  not  be  quickly  forgotten.  It  should  be  added 
that,  both  in  this  province  and  in  Si-ch'uan,  the  gov- 
ernment did  all  it  could  to  make  amends. 

Moreover,  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  Japan  the 


360  THESE  FORTY  YEARS. 

Emperor  of  China,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  country,  took  personal  cognizance  of  services 
rendered  by  individual  missionaries,  conferring  upon 
eleven  medical  missionaries  the  high  distinction  of 
the  Order  of  the  Double  Dragon,  with  its  jeweled 
insignia.  In  addition  to  this  imperial  recognition, 
medical  services  to  wounded  soldiers  and  civilians 
were  also  formally  acknowledged,  in  various  ways, 
by  local  mandarins. 

In  this  year,  also,  was  completed  the  period  of  five 
years,  from  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Convention  of 
1890,  within  which  the  Conference  asked  for  a  thou- 
sand men  to  reinforce  the  work  in  China.  This 
appeal,  translated  by  many  into  the  language  of 
prayer,  God  heard  as  well  as  the  home  churches.  But 
God  often  disposes  otherwise  than  we  propose.  They 
asked  for  a  thousand.  He  sent  more,  by  a  hundred 
and  fifty-three.  They  asked  for  men.  He  sent, 
through  forty-five  Societies,  both  men  and  women — 
four  hundred  and  eighty-one  men,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  missionary  wives  and  five  hundred  and 
five  single  ladies.  And  thus  He  met  the  need  as  He 
saw  best,  l^ot  that  it  was  met  completely:  very  far 
from  that !  Even  now,  at  the  end  of  1902,  there  i^ 
still  very  much  "land  to  be  possessed.''  But  as  many 
went  out,  probably,  as  could  be  satisfactorily  trained 
and  located  within  five  years.  For  this  readiness  to 
give  at  home,  and  to  go,  all  glory  be  ascribed  to  God. 


CHAPTER     III. 


BLESSEDLY  UNEVENTFUL  YEARS. 

Blessedly  uneventful  were  the  years  which  imme- 
diately followed  troublous  1895;  uneventful,  save  in 
that  chief  event  for  which  all  missionary  work  exists 
— the  salvation  of  souls.  Unhampered  by  serious 
difficulties  without,  or  by  grave  troubles  within,  the 
work  of  all  Missions  in  China,  and  the  China  Inland 
Mission  among  them,  went  forward  in  a  way  to  re- 
joice the  heart. 

Missions  to  the  heathen  serve  many  subsidiary 
ends:  civilizing,  educating,  uplifting  the  do^^^l-trod- 
den,  emancipating  woman,  and  bringing  medical  and 
surgical  aid  to  countless  sufferers.  All  these  are 
things  we  cannot  but  be  thankful  for,  we  who  are 
followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  "went  about 

doing  good.'' 

But  the  one  supreme  blessing  of  Salvation,  which 
it  is  their  privilege  to  bring,  immeasurably  out- 
weighs all  else:  involving,  as  it  does,  deliverance  in 
the  future  from  eternal  perdition,  involving  the  pres- 
ent redemption  of  wrecked  and  miserable  lives,  in- 
volving happiness  instead  of  cruelty,  love  and  loveli- 
ness instead  of  hatred  and  hatefulness:  this  one  all- 
inclusive  blessing  so  far  outweighs  all  others  that 
without  accomplishing  this,  no  missionary's  heart  can 
361 


362  THESE    rOETY    YEAKS. 

ever  be  satisfied;  liis  work,  judged  by  the  highest 
standard,  is  in  vain,  and  he  knows  it. 

This,  moreover,  was  the  object  set  before  us  in  our 
general  marching  orders:  ^^Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  And  "he 
that  believeth  .  .  .  shall  be  saved."  Those  at 
home  who  give  and  send,  and  those  on  the  field  who 
go  and  sacrifice,  and  all  who'  pray,  work  together 
therefore  to  this  one  supreme  end.  And  who  can  es- 
timate the  value  of  one  lost  soul  reclaimed  for  Jesus 
Christ?  "Well  may  God  Himself  rejoice  over  each 
individual  salvation ! 

Missionary  work  involves,  necessarily,  great  sacri- 
fices, but  are  they  not  sacrifices  for  ends  incompar- 
ably greater?  And  neither  supporter  at  home,  nor 
worker  on  the  field — no,  nor  God  Himself — will  ever 
regret  the  price  paid  for  the  redemption  of  lost  men 
and  women. 

Hard  though  1895  had  been,  especially  in  the 
west,  the  hearts  of  the  workers  were  cheered  by 
abundant  ingathering  in  many  of  the  stations.  "This 
is  what  we  live  for."  The  bad  year  became  a  good 
year,  through  the  blessing  of  the  Lord.  Spite  of 
all  there  was  to  hinder,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  east 
and  west,  in  the  northwest  and  northeast,  a  larger 
number  of  converts  were  baptized  than  ever  before; 
eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  being  added  to  the 
Church. 

In  the  year  of  peace  which  followed,  1896,  this  im- 
provement was  maintained,   and  much  more   than 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  363 

maintained:  for  twelve  hundred  and  sixty-two  were 
baptized,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  a  larger  num- 
ber of  applicants  for  church  fellowship  were  on  the 
rolls  than  ever  before.  Growth,  thank  God,  steady 
growth,  is  the  rule  of  the  Kingdom;  and  the  liistory 
of  the  Church  in  China  has  been  no  exception  to  the 
rule. 

It  was  not  only  the  number  added  that  was  encour- 
aging. Mrs.  Bird  Bishop,  after  extensive  joumcyings 
in  the  far  interior,  spoke  of  the  transformations  which 
she  herself  had  seen,  not  only  in  the  lives,  but  in  the 
very  appearance  of  the  Christians.  She  has  often 
said  that  in  China  her  camera  knew  the  difference  be- 
tween a  Christian  and  a  heathen.  There  is  a  light  in 
the  Christians'  faces  and  an  earnestness  of  demeanor, 
which  tell  of  an  inner  spring  of  happiness  and  rest- 
fulness  that  is  never  found  apart  from  Christ.  This 
distinguished  traveler  also  remarks  that,  so  far  as  her 
observation  had  gone,  the  little  churches  are  pure 
and  the  members  unmistakably  converted.  Mrs. 
Bishop  was  especially  impressed  with  the  value  and 
success  of  medical  missionary  work,  not  only  as  a  di- 
rect evangelistic  agency  of  the  highest  value,  but  also 
as  a  means  of  disanning  prejudice  and  suspicion,  and 
of  conquering  the  many  supei'^titions  which  bar  tlie 
progress  of  the  Truth. 

Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  speaking  this  year  at  the  Lon- 
don Annual  Meeting,  drew  attention  to  the  striking 
change  in  attitude  which  lie  and  many  others  had 
noticed  recently.     There  was  not,  of  coui-se,  eager- 


364  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

ness  to  hear  the  Gospel;  one  would  hardly  expect  to 
find  that  among  heathen,  who  do  not  even  know  there 
is  a  Gospel!  But  there  was  a  willingness  to  listen,  a 
more  respectful  bearing  and  much  more  readiness  to 
receive  the  message  when  it  began  to  be  understood. 

These  encouraging  features  of  the  work  in  1896, 
after  the  war  with  Japan  and  the  many  riots  and 
other  troubles  of  the  preceding  year,  were  just  what 
was  prayed  for  and  expected.  Times  of  great  bless- 
ing are  usually  preceded  by  special  onslaughts  of  the 
Enemy.  It  is  important  to  remember  at  such  times  of 
trial,  indeed,  at  all  times,  that  he  cannot  go  one  inch 
beyond  the  permission  he  obtains  from  the  King  of 
kings;  and  that  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  defeat 
to  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ.  All  things  shall  be  put 
in  subjection  under  His  feet. 

And  now,  at  last,  the  time  had  come  for  the  "key 
of  David^'  to  unlock  the  entrance  to  the  province  of 
Hu-nan.  It  was  to  a  woman  that  God  gave  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  missionary  to  settle  in  that  province. 
Miss  Jacobson,  a  E'orwegian  associate  of  long  experi- 
ence, with  rare  courage  and  devotion,  undertook  to 
do  her  best. 

She  went,  with  suitable  native  helpers,  and  passed 
the  border,  where  a  posse  of  soldiers  were  detailed  to 
intercept  her,  in  the  garb  of  a  peasant,  apron,  shoes 
and  all;  the  soldiers  taking  little  notice  of  the  coun- 
trywoman and  her  servants.  She  commenced  work 
very  quietly  in  a  country  village :  afterwards  moving, 
as  the  way  opened,  into  a  neighboring  city.    Several 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  365 

other  stations,  with  resident  missionaries,  have  been 
opened  since,  including  the  capital  of  the  province, 
but  this  work  in  the  Ch'a-ling  district  was  the  first. 

Some  years  previously  a  member  of  the  [Mission, 
having  been  very  roughly  handled  in  this  province, 
reported  to  Mr.  Taylor  with  a  radiant  face:  "Those 
Hu-nanese  are  worth  working  for;  there  is  such 
energy  about  them,  and  such  vigor;  we  must  have 
them  on  the  Lord's  side!" 

One  more  encouraging  fact  must  be  mentioned. 
The  work  under  Bishop  Cassels  continued  to  steadily 
expand,  in  answer  to  special  and  united  prayer.  The 
Bishop,  during  the  first  year  after  his  consecration  by 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  traveled  in  visiting 
the  various  centers  in  his  diocese,  considerably  over 
three  thousand  miles:  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  bap- 
tizing forty-seven  new  members,  as  well  as  confinn- 
ing  one  hundred  and  sixty  Christians. 

It  was  one  of  the  Christians  from  Pao-ning,  the 
headquarters  of  this  Episcopal  branch  of  the  Mission, 
who  so  heroically  undertook,  some  time  before,  a  pub- 
lic flogging  at  Sung-p'an,  near  the  Thibetan  border. 
By  this  expedient  of  substituting  the  native  Christian, 
the  mandarin,  who  was  in  imminent  peril  himself, 
was  able  to  deliver  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Polhill  Turner  from 
the  fury  of  the  populace,  who  believed  the  serious 
drought  to  be  due  to  the  presence  of  the  foreigners 
and  the  anger  of  the  gods.  When  this  man  came 
home  to  his  o^vn  church  he  had  not  a  word  to  say 
about  his  beating,  and,  indeed,  when  lovingly  asked 


366  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

about  it,  only  said:  "Oh,  that  is  of  no  consequence; 
Jesus  bore  much  more  than  that  for  me." 

During  these  years  the  membership  of  the  Mission 
was  steadily  increasing;  from  1894  to  1897,  inclusive, 
there  was  an  annual  addition  of  over  seventy  new 
workers,  nearly  three  hundred  in  all.  Over  against 
this  must  be  placed  those  who  had  laid  down  their 
lives  in  the  work,  about  eight  or  ten  each  year.  And, 
of  course,  there  were  other  losses  from  failing  health 
and  other  reasons.  But  after  allowing  for  these, 
there  was  a  large  increase  in  the  membership. 

There  was  not,  however,  a  corresponding  increase 
in  the  funds.  In  1896,  for  instance,  the  income  was 
$215,000,  only  $400  more  than  the  year  before.  It 
need  hardly  be  said  that  this  involved  great  care  on 
the  part  of  the  Financial  Secretaries  in  China  to  avoid 
hardship  to  the  workers.  By  gTcat  economy,  how- 
ever, and  by  postponing  repairs  and  other  movable 
expenditures,  the  usual  average  remittances  to  the 
workers  were  maintained. 

It  may  not,  perhaps,  be  out  of  place  to  mention 
here  an  impression  that  exists  in  certain  quarters, 
that  the  members  or  associates  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  are  frequently  reduced  to  great  straits  for 
want  of  money;  an  impression  wdiich,  happily,  is  not 
borne  out  by  facts.  During  one  of  the  hardest  years 
the  Mission  ever  had,  the  year  1900,  Mr.  Hudson 
Taylor  found  that  it  had  only  been  necessary  to  re- 
duce the  remittance  to  individual  missionaries  by  two 
and  a  half  per  cent.,  a  practically  unappreciable  dim- 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  367 

inution  of  the  ordinary  average  income.  It  is  not 
without  good  reason  that  the  members  of  the  Mission 
make  their  boast  in  the  Lord,  that  He  is  faithful  that 
promised !    To  Him  be  all  the  glory ! 

1897  was  a  still  more  blessed  year  than  1896. 
Many  souls  were  born  into  the  Kingdom,  and  in  the 
China  Inland  Mission  alone  we  had  the  joy  of  re- 
ceiving into  the  Church  1,325  believers.  All  of  these 
had  been  on  probation  for  several  months  at  least, 
and  in  many  cases  for  a  3-ear  or  more.  The  impor- 
tance of  keeping  the  churches  pure,  of  avoiding  tlie 
baneful  influence  of  false  brethren,  can  scarcely  be 
over-estimated.  In  addition  to  these,  of  course,  many 
inquirers  were  enrolled,  as  desirous  to  join  the 
Church;   a  still  larger  number  than  before. 

As  we  have  seen  already,  seventy  new  members 
joined  the  Mission  in  1897,  bringing  the  membership 
to  744.  The  native  helpers  also,  paid  or  self-sup- 
porting, were  increased  by  a  hundred,  from  rather 
more  than  500  to  600.  Forty-one  new  stations  and 
out-stations  were  opened  in  various  parts  of  the 
country.  In  the  province  of  Ilu-nan,  so  long  closed 
against  the  Gospel,  another  more  important  station 
was  opened  at  Chang-teh.  And  the  Kev.  George 
Hunter,  who  took  a  much-needed  furlough  this  year, 
left  behind  a  little  native  church  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  this  province. 

Yet  another  advance  on  the  field  cheered  the  hearts 
of  many,  both  in  China  and  at  home.  The  prayers 
of  years,  for  the  far  southwest,  began  to  have  an 


368  THESE   FORTY    YEAES. 

answer.  So  long  ago  as  1865,  mncli  prayer  went  up 
to  God  tliat  He  would  make  it  possible  to  enter  one 
great  district  of  the  then  untouched  field  of  inland 
China  from  the  southwest,  by  way  of  Burmah.  Ten 
years  later,  the  work  in  China  itself  being  well  estab- 
lished, two  missionaries  were  dispatched  to  the 
Burmese  frontier.  They  were  met,  as  we  have  seen, 
by  serious  obstacles.  They  obtained,  through  the 
good  hand  of  God  upon  them,  an  audience  of  King 
Mindano  at  Mandalay,  and  were  given  a  site  at 
Bhamo  (after  further  delay),  which  was  all  that  could 
be  desired  in  the  interests  of  the  work.  The  center 
thus  opened  became  a  regular  station  of  the  Mission, 
in  which  a  many-sided  work  was  carried  on  among 
Chinese  residents  and  traders,  among  the  Burmese 
and  hill-tribesmen,  and  among  the  English  soldiers 
on  garrison  duty. 

Twenty-two  more  long  years  had  passed,  however, 
before  it  became  possible  to  regularly  use  this  en- 
trance to  the  province  of  Yun-nan.  During  this 
period,  at  long  intervals,  missionaries  had  crossed  the 
frontier  in  both  directions.  ITow  at  last  the  British 
authorities  had  conquered  the  difficulties  with  the 
Kah-chens  and  other  mountaineers  and,  far  more 
serious,  with  the  Chinese  government,  and  a  regular 
trade  route  was  opened,  with  a  British  consulate  at 
the  first  Chinese  city  across  the  border:  a  city  best 
known  to  foreigners  by  its  Burmese  name,  Momien, 
but  in  Chinese,  T'eng-ueh  Chau.  Here  two  mission- 
aries were  stationed:    and  settled  work  was  com- 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  3G9 

mencecl  among  its  peaceable  citizens.  For  prayer, 
thus  answered  after  many  (lays,  much  pralsn  went 
up  to  God. 

In  this  year  extensive  improvements  and  enlarge- 
ments at  the  Chefoo  Schools  were  completed.  Tlie 
new  Boys'  School,  airy,  convenient  and  healthy,  could 
accommodate  one  hundred  and  twenty  pupils.  The 
enlarged  Girls'  School  could  comfurtably  receive 
eighty,  and  the  Preparatory  School  another  fifty, 
making  a  total  accommodation  of  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  This  was,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  a  greatly 
appreciated  addition  to  these  schools  for  missionaries' 
children. 

In  the  year  1897,  also,  a  most  interesting  departure  was 
taken  by  the  native  missionary  association  in  Shan-si. 
Opium  refuge  work  having  been  so  greatly  prospered  in  the 
northern  provinces,  the  brethren  now  sent  forth  two  native 
missionaries  to  carry  on  a  similar  work,  nearly  a  thousand 
miles  away,  in  the  difficult  province  of  Hu-nan.  They  went 
to  the  station  opened  by  Miss  Jacobsou  in  the  previous  year. 
Needless  to  say,  the  prayers  of  Chinese  and  foreigners  went 
with  them. 

As  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  many  vicissitudes  of 
travel,  and  of  the  ever-present  help  of  God,  tlie  following 
instance  which  happened  about  this  time  will  not  be  without 
interest.  Mr.  Karlsson,  one  of  tlie  Swedish-American  pio- 
neers on  the  Si-an  plain,  was  out  on  a  five  months'  evan- 
gelistic tour.  Five  Chinamen  accompanied  him,  and  in 
addition  to  preaching  the  Gospel  they  sold  Scriptures  and 
tracts  wherever  they  went.  He  sat  one  evening  on  the 
k'ang  (the  warm  brick  bed  which  is  common  in  that  part 
of  China)  as  he  preached  the  Gospel,  having  removed  the 
shoes  from  his  weary  feet  before  commencing.  He  preached 
on  till  dark,  and  then  discovered  that  his  shoes  had  disap- 
peared. 

What  could  be  done?  There  were  none  to  be  had  in 
24 


370  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

the  village,  and  the  journey  was  to  be  continued  in  the 
morning.  The  missionary  and  his  companions  united  in 
prayer,  asking  earnestly  that  the  thief  might  return  the 
shoes.  They  then  had  supper  and  retired.  "Early  in  the 
morning  some  one  outside  pushed  my  shoes  through  the 
paper  window  and  said,  'Here  are  your  shoes;  stop  your 
praying,  for  I  am  afraid  of  your  God.'  "  They  had  a  little 
praise  meeting  before  continuing  the  journey. 

Before  we  pass  from  1897,  it  will  not  be  without  interest 
to  compare  it  with  ten  years  before.  At  the  beginning  of 
1887  there  were  about  225  members  of  the  Mission,  now 
there  were  more  than  three  times  as  many — 744.  Then 
there  were  1,650  communicants  in  the  churches,  most  of 
which  were  young;  now  there  were  7,147.  Then  there  were 
117  native  helpers,  now  605.  Then  there  were  14  schools 
for  native  children,  with  200  scholars;  now  there  were  114 
schools,  with  1,600  scholars,  mostly  the  children  of  Christian 
parents,  girls  as  .well  as  boys.  And  the  necessity  of  these 
will  be  apparent  when  we  remember  that  the  worship  of 
Confucius  is  compulsory  at  all  the  ordinary  schools,  and 
that  the  heathen  have  no  schools  for  girls. 

The  Lord,  wlio  was  thus  steadily  increasing  the 
work  of  the  Mission,  now  graciously  brought  about, 
through  many  of  his  stewards,  a  decided  increase  of 
the  General  Fund,  from  which  most  of  its  members 
are  supported;  an  increase,  as  compared  with  the 
year  before,  of  $25,000,  or  about  15  per  cent,  which 
fully  provided  for  the  year's  increase  of  workers. 
For  this  gracious  answer  to  prayer,  it  need  hardly 
be  said,  much  grateful  praise  went  up  to  God ! 

*  -x-  -5^  ->5-  -X-  -X-  -x- 

Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  arrived  in  China,  for  the  tenth 
time,  early  in  January,  1898,  being  accompanied  by 
Mrs.  Taylor,  Miss  Hanbury  (who  now  became  prin- 
cipal of  the  Girls'  School  at  Chef  oo)  and  Miss  Soltau. 
At  Mr.  Taylor's  request,  Miss  Soltau  had  come  out 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  371 

for  a  year's  visit,  with  a  very  definite  object  in  view. 
Before  referring  to  this,  a  tliought  whiclv  was  form- 
ing in  Mr.  Taylor's  mind  at  this  time,  a  most  im- 
portant plan  for  the  more  thorough  evangelization 
of  China,  must  be  mentioned. 

As  in  India,  so  in  China,  nine-tenths  of  the  popula- 
tion are  on  the  soil,  and  are  dependent  directly  upon 
the  products  of  agriculture  for  a  subsistence.  These 
are  still,  and  of  necessity,  very  largely  outside  the 
pale  of  missionary  influence.  For  it  is  strategically 
right  that  missionary  work  should  commence  in  the 
cities,  as  we  have  seen. 

But  the  time  had  now  come,  Mr.  Taylor  felt,  when 
the  villages  and  hamlets,  the  rural  nine-tenths  of  the 
people  ought  to  hear  the  message  of  salvation.  With 
this  end  in  view,  a  plan  was  drawn  up,  in  the  year 
1898,  for  a  definite  Forward  Movement  to  these 
largely  unreached  masses.  The  proposal  was  to  send 
missionaries,  two  and  two,  two  natives  and  two  for- 
eigners, to  work  on  a  definite  system  through  all  the 
villages  and  hamlets  and  country  towns  in  a  given 
district,  with  the  aim  in  view  of  literally  preaching 
the  Gospel,  as  far  as  possible,  to  every  creature.  To 
accomplish  this,  it  would  be  necessary  to  divide  the 
field  into  workable  districts. 

To  this  end,  a  commencement  was  made  with  the 
province  of  Kiang-si.  With  the  exception  of  two 
sections,  in  which  rural  evangelization  was  already  in 
progress,  the  province  was  divided  into  five  evan- 
gelistic districts,  of  an  average  area  half  as  large 


372  THESE    FOETY    YEAES. 

again  as  Massachusetts,  and  with  an  average  popula- 
tion of  four  millions. 

In  order  to  man  these  districts  effectively,  earnest, 
united  prayer  was  requested  for  twenty  evangelists, 
men  of  strong  physique,  of  courage,  and  of  faith  in 
the  power  of  the  Gospel.  Prayer  was  also  asked  for 
twenty  native  Christians  of  suitable  gifts  for  this 
ministry,  and  for  wisdom  and  good  success  in  estab- 
lishing, in  each  of  these  districts,  a  center  which 
should  be  the  headquarters  and  home  of  four  evan- 
gelists, and  from  which  they  would  ^^go  out  into  the 
liighways  and  hedges  and  constrain  them  to  come  in." 

Tliose  who  offered  for  this  work  went  out  to 
China  under  a  definite  agreement  not  to  settle  down 
or  marry  for  five  years,  but  to  give  themselves  wholly 
to  this  service.  Three-fourths  of  their  time,  after 
the  first  year,  would  be  given  to  systematic  visitation 
through  the  district,  the  other  quarter  being  devoted 
to  spiritual  refreshment  and  continued  study  of  the 
language  hj  the  foreigners,  and  to  a  regular  course 
of  Bible  study  by  the  natives. 

It  can  easily  be  demonstrated  that  a  thousand  such 
evangelists  could  reach  with  the  Gospel  the  men, 
women  and  children  of  China,  within  three,  or  at  the 
outside,  five  years.  Surely  it  was  high  time  to  set 
about  a  work  so  promising,  so  unspeakably  needed, 
and  so  calculated  to  bring  about  a  large  increase  in 
the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ! 

This  Forward  IMovement,  for  which  special  funds 
were  available,  was  inaugurated  in  1898,  and  was 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEAKS.  373 

entered  upon  in  the  Kiang-si  province  during  the 
next  two  years:  one  of  the  first  workers  to  join  it 
being  Mr.  Taylor's  youngest  son,  Ernest  Taylor. 

The  Boxer  catastrophe,  so  sadly  reducing  the 
number  of  missionaries  available  for  existing  work, 
has  temporarily  interfered  with  the  prosecution  of 
this  new  plan  of  campaign.  If,  however,  our  Lord's 
return  is  not  yet,  it  is  hoped  that  this  definite  effort 
toward  fulfilling  His  last  wish  may  be  used  to  hasten 
His  coming,  Who  has  said  that  "this  Gospel  .  .  . 
shall  be  preached  in  the  whole  world  for  a  testimony 
unto  all  the  nations,  and  then  shall  the  end  come." 

For  such  a  forward  movement  to  be  effective,  as 
effective  as  it  might,  it  was  obviously  necessary  that 
much  prayer  should  ascend  to  God  for  a  widespread 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  China.  Such  Pen- 
tecostal blessings  have  usually,  perhaps  always  in  the 
history  of  the  Church,  been  preceded  by  times  of 
definite  waiting  upon  God.  Pentecost  begins  with 
the  praying  disciples,  and  overfiows  to  unconverted 
multitudes. 

That  this  blessing  might  begin  with  the  mission- 
aries, the  members  of  the  Mission  were  invited  to 
very  definite  agreed  prayer.  For  the  same  reason 
Miss  Soltau  went  out  to  China.  And  a  few  months 
later  a  deputation  from  Keswick,  consisting  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Charles  Inwood,  went  out  with  the  definite 
purpose  of  aiding,  as  God  might  prosper  them,  in 
this  direction. 

Miss  Soltau  herself  was  an  English  lady  who  had 


374  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

been  for  many  years  a  partial  invalid,  but  had  been 
graciously  restored  in  answer  to  prayer  and  with  a 
view  to  definite  service.  Her  visit  to  China  was 
greatly  blessed  of  God.  First  of  all  on  arrival  in 
Shanghai  she  had  some  remarkable  meetings  there. 
Then  at  the  Ladies'  Training  Home  at  Yang-chau 
she  was  yet  more  blessedly  used  of  God:  while  at  the 
Men's  Home  at  Gan-king,  Mr.  Stevenson,  who  was 
present,  believed  that  every  student  in  the  Home  re- 
ceived a  fresh  enduement  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Much 
blessing  was  granted  also  on  a  visit  to  the  "ladies' 
stations"  in  Kiang-si.  And  later,  at  E'ankin,  mem- 
bers of  many  Missions  were  astonished,  not  only  at 
the  grace  but  also  at  the  physical  endurance  given  to 
this  frail  servant  of  the  Lord,  for  from  morning  to 
night  was  one  long  sequence  of  meetings  and  inter- 
views, day  after  day.  After  a  year  of  arduous  labor, 
Miss  Soltau  returned  home,  followed  by  the  grati- 
tude of  many  to  whom  she  had  been  made  a  blessing. 
The  Rev.  Charles  Inwood's  visit  was  also  a  means 
of  great  refreshment  to  many,  both  in  the  China  In- 
land Mission  and  other  Societies. 

During  this  same  year,  1898,  the  China  Inland 
Mission  Prayer  Union,  which  had  been  a  valued  aux- 
iliary in  ISTorth  America  for  five  years,  was  launched 
in  England,  and  became  an  integral  part  of  the  Mis- 
sion as  a  whole.  This  Union  is  an  organized  form  of 
that  heart  union  in  prayer,  which  has  existed  among 
the  friends  of  the  Mission,  and  has  been  so  largely 
honored  of  God  from  the  beginning.     Its  members, 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  375 

while  bound  by  no  pledge,  give  some  time  each  day 
to  prayer  for  the  extension  of  God's  Kingdom  in 
China,  for  all  its  missionaries,  and  in  particular  for 
the  workers,  native  and  foreign,  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission.  The  members  of  this  Union  are  rendering 
a  profoundly  important  service,  and  with  tlie  in- 
creasing circle  of  regular  subscribers,  fonu  an  inner 
circle  of  "laborers  together"  for  China,  upon  whom 
the  success  of  the  work  in  large  measure  depends. 

The  year  1898  will  long  be  memorable  in  the  his- 
tory of  China  as  the  Year  of  Refonn.  During  the 
summer,  within  the  short  space  of  three  months,  the 
young  Emperor — whose  progressive  sympathies  and 
earnest  consideration  of  the  problems  of  his  country 
entitle  limi  to  its  lasting  gratitude  —  promulgated 
no  less  than  ninety  edicts,  most  of  wliicli  were  dis- 
tinctively "reform"  edicts,  and  whicli,  taken  to- 
gether, would  have  done  much  to  lift  China  out 
of  the  old  ruts,  and  place  her  in  a  strong  position 
before  the  world. 

It  is  true  that  the  inertia  of  China  is  very  great, 
and  it  may  be  that  the  Emperor  Kwang-su  was  going 
too  fast  for  his  people  in  his  attempt  to  introduce  the 
civilization  of  the  West.  At  any  rate,  so  thought 
the  former  Queen  Regent,  the  Dowager  Empress, 
but  the  strange  thing  was  that  the  people  at  large 
seemed  content,  and  many  of  the  most  intelligent 
more  than  content,  at  what  was  so  rapidly  trans- 
piring. This  was  so,  even  when,  toward  the  end  of 
the  series,  that  astounding  proclamation  went  forth 


376  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

that  the  idol  temples  of  the  country  were  to  be 
closed  (with  the  sole  exception  of  those  to  Confucius 
and  the  god  of  w^ar,  which  are  used  for  state  func- 
tions), were  to  be  emptied  of  their  images,  and  were 
to  be  reopened  as  schools  and  colleges  of  Western 
learning! 

This  was,  perhaps,  the  most  remarkable  imperial 
proclamation  since  the  days  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 
And  still  more  remarkable,  and  still  more  encour- 
aging, was  the  way  the  people  took  it.  The  news 
was  soon  telegraphed  to  the  government  offices  all 
over  the  empire,  and  before  the  Shanghai  and  the 
T'ien-tsin  newspapers  could  bring  exact  information 
to  foreigners  in  the  interior,  the  natives.  Christians 
and  heathen  alike,  were  eagerly  discussing  this  aston- 
ishing decree. 

Church  members  at  T'ai-kang,  a  month's  journey 
from  the  coast,  gathered  round  the  writer,  asking: 
"Can  it  be  true?"  How  he  wished  it  might  be,  but 
it  seemed  too  good!  'Not  long  after,  the  papers  came 
with  the  news:  and  profound  thanksgiving  ascended 
to  God,  from  this  and  many  other  stations,  as  the 
news  spread  across  the  empire. 

Of  course  this  change  of  policy  brought  about  an 
immense  change  in  the  scholarly  classes.  From  the 
missionaries  alone,  in  most  cases,  could  they  obtain 
authoritative  information,  as  to  what  was  the  "West- 
ern learning,"  and  how  books  could  be  obtained  on 
mathematics,  geography,  astronomy,  and  the  history 
of  the  world. 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  377 

At  the  same  time,  also,  of  course,  their  haughty 
contemptuous  attitude  was  entirely  changed  to  one 
of  equality  and  even  cordiality  toward  tlie  foreigner. 
This  vras  valuable  primarily  as  giving  a  golden  oppor- 
tunity of  reaching,  with  the  Gospel,  many  who  had 
hitherto  held  aloof.  Secondarily,  it  was  of  great 
value  because  the  masses  of  the  people  always  in- 
stinctively follow,  very  naturally,  their  leaders,  and 
this  would  result  in  greater  personal  safety  and  much 
more  freedom  from  petty  annoyance. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected,  however,  that  the  great 
Enemy  of  God,  and  of  mankind,  would  permit  this 
terrific  blow  to  be  hurled  at  idolatry  from  the  throne, 
without  straining  every  nerve  to  ward  it  off.  He 
succeeded,  too,  for  the  time,  and  did  so  by  causing  the 
downfall  of  the  Emperor  before  the  Dowager  Em- 
press: who  has  ever  since  been  the  actual,  and  to  a 
certain  extent  even  the  nominal  ruler  of  the  country. 
Space  fails  to  tell  the  details  of  the  story.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  this  coup  d'etat  resulted  in  the  abrogation 
of  all  these  progressive  edicts,  including  that  doing 
away  with  the  old-fashioned  literary  essay  as  the 
principal  element  of  the  civil  service  examination  of 
candidates  for  official  positions  and  emoluments.  It 
resulted  in  the  decapitation  of  some  of  the  most  en- 
lightened and  progressive  statesmen  of  the  country, 
and  the  flight  of  others.  It  seemed  as  though  the 
hopes  of  China  were  being  put  back  by  decades  at 
a  stroke. 

Happily,  however,  after  this  policy  had  culminated 


3Y8  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

iii  the  terrible  Boxer  cataclysm,  more  enlightened 
counsel  again  prevailed  at  Pekin.  "Western  learn- 
ing" is  now  again  ascendant,  and  is  becoming  a  part 
of  the  civil  service  curriculum  throughout  the  em- 
pire. Once  more  there  seems  good  hope,  if  the  em- 
pire can  hold  together,  of  rapid  progress  being  made 
during  the  next  few  years. 

But  to  return:  from  the  missionary  point  of  view 
the  most  important  event  of  the  year  1898  was  the 
opening  up  of  additional  stations  in  the  province  of 
Hu-nan,  for  which  so  many  thousands  of  prayers  had 
gone  up  to  God.  Three  new  stations  were  opened 
by  the  China  Inland  Mission,  one  or  more  by  the 
Christian  Alliance ;  the  London  Mission  also  consider- 
ably extended  its  work,  mainly  by  native  agents  un- 
der foreign  supervision,  and  converts  came  to  be 
numbered  by  scores,  in  this  province  which  had  so 
long  held  out  against  the  entrance  of  the  Truth. 

Seventy-one  new  missionaries  were  sent  out  within 
the  year,  bringing  up  the  total  to  about  eight  hun- 
dred. The  death  rate  was  mercifully  low,  only  9.9 
per  thousand.  And  the  General  Fund  was  again 
increased  at  the  same  rate  as  the  membership,  as  in 
the  previous  year;  in  addition  to  which  there  was  a 
further  increase  of  over  $50,000  for  special  purposes, 
which  permitted  many  much-needed  repairs  to  be 
effected,  besides  considerable  extension  of  the  work. 

There  was  a  slight  diminution  in  the  number  of 
baptisms,  explained  by  a  serious  rebellion  in  western 
China  and  grave  troubles  in  other  districts,  which 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    TEARS.  379 

considerably  liampered  the  work  in  these  localities. 
It  was  comforting  to  find,  moreover,  that  the  de- 
crease, slight  as  it  was,  was  wholly  accoimted  for  in 
the  one  province  of  Cheh-kiang,  most  of  the  other 
provinces  showing  a  decided  improvement. 

It  had  long  been  a  cause  for  profound  gratitude  to 
God  that,  through  all  these  years  of  the  iMission's 
history,  not  one  life  had  been  lost  by  accident,  on 
land  or  sea,  and  that  7iot  one  member  or  associate  had 
been  called  upon  to  win  a  martyr's  crown.  That  this 
was  the  answer  to  definite  prayer  no  one  doubted. 
And  praise  and  thanksgiving  often  went  up  to  God 
on  this  account  from  members  and  friends  of  the 
Mission. 

!N'ow,  at  last,  an  exception  occurred.  Away  in  the 
west  a  missionary  was  working  alone  among  the 
Aborigines  at  P'ang-hai,  in  the  province  of  Kuei- 
chau.  A  plot  was  made  against  his  life,  one  of  the 
chief  instigators  of  which  was  a  small  military  man- 
darin. It  became  advisable  to  leave  the  station, 
which  the  missionary  did,  with  a  native  evangelist 
and  teacher.  They  traveled  thirteen  miles  toward 
the  capital  of  the  province,  lunched  at  a  wayside  vil- 
lage, and  shortly  afterwards  the  native  evangelist 
(himself  a  native  of  the  Miao  tribe  of  Aborigines) 
was  set  upon  by  three  men  with  swords  and  quickly 
killed.  Mr.  Fleming,  who  might  have  easily  escaped 
upon  his  mule,  leaped  from  the  animal,  in  the  hope  of 
persuading  the  men  to  cease  attacking  the  evangelist, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  had  paid  with  his  life  for  the 


380  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

attempt  to  save  liis  brotlier.  The  teacher  fled  by 
circuitous  paths,  and  brought  the  sad  news  to  Kuei- 
yang. 

An  official  and  soldiers  were  dispatched  mth  Mr. 
Adam,  who  went  immediately  to  make  arrangements 
for  the  funeral.  The  bodies  had  meanwhile  been 
placed  in  coffins  and  were  under  the  care  of  an  official 
guard.  A  piece  of  land  w^as  given  at  P'ang-hai  by 
the  Chinese  authorities  for  the  purpose,  and  with 
due  ceremony  the  two  martyrs  were  reverently 
buried  at  the  station  for  which  their  lives  had  been 
given.  Thirty  or  more  Miao  inquirers  were  present 
at  the  funeral,  and  gave  all  the  help  they  could.  And 
it  is  solemnly  encouraging  to  learn  that  a  wide  and 
effectual  door  for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  was 
opened  in  that  region  as  the  sequel  to  this  sad  event. 

Within  about  a  year  from  Mr.  Fleming's  death 
there  were  remarkable  evidences  of  a  revival  in  the 
district  around  P'ang-hai,  which  can  be  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  in  no  other  way  than  as  a  gracious 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  answer  to  much 
prayer,  called  forth  by  the  martyrdom  of  Mr.  Flem- 
ing and  his  colleague. 

Within  twelve  months  Mr.  Waters,  of  Ivuei-yang, 
sent  home  an  interesting  account  of  a  visitation  in 
that  district,  which  was  published  in  extenso  in 
China's  MillionSj  from  which  we  can  only  now 
quote  the  brief  concluding  paragraph:  "I  do  not 
know  the  exact  number  of  those  who  desire  their 
names  to  be  enrolled  as  inquirers,  but  there  must  be 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEARS.  381 

over  two  hnndred.  In  the  villages  I  visited,  I  went 
into  many  houses,  and  all  traces  of  idolatry  had  dis- 
appeared, their  place  being  taken  by  texts  of  Scrip- 
tures, Gospel  tracts,  and  Christian  calendars.''  Ver- 
ily, God  can  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him! 

May  the  Lord  grant  that  the  recent  terrible  trou- 
bles in  China  may  likewise  result,  as  indeed  they  are 
already  resulting,  in  greatly  increased  facilities  for 
preaching  the  Gospel.  And  may  a  mighty  outpour- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  answer  to  the  earnest  prayer 
of  many,  bring  about  a  large  ingathering  of  souls  in 
the  not  distant  future. 

In  many  respects,  1899  was  a  year  of  gratifying 
progress.  The  work  of  the  Mission  was  carried  on 
satisfactorily  throughout  the  country;  the  number  of 
baptisms  was  slightly  larger  than  the  year  before; 
there  was  also  an  addition  of  forty-seven  new  mem- 
bers to  the  Mission;  and  while  the  hearts  of  the 
workers  were  saddened  by  the  loss  of  eleven  of  their 
number,  this  was,  after  all,  only  at  the  rate  of  13 J 
per  thousand. 

The  income  this  year  was  somewhat  less  than  the 
year  before.  But  1898  was  most  exceptional  in  this 
respect,  as  we  have  seen,  showing  the  total  increase 
on  the  year  before  of  $80,000.  The  income  of  1899 
was  half-way  between  the  two,  less  by  $40,000  than 
that  of  1898,  but  more  by  $40,000  than  that  of  1897. 
There  was,  therefore,  no  hardship  involved  for  any 
of  the  workers,  and  the  only  noticeable  result  was 
that  certain  aggressive  steps,  certain  enlargements 


382  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

of  the  work  and  improvements  of  Mission  premises, 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  undertaken,  were 
necessarily  postponed.  While  the  leaders  of  the 
Mission  were  conscious  of  this  restraint,  it  did  not 
cause  them  any  anxiety.  The  Lord  makes  no  mis- 
takes. Little  did  they  divine  the  reason  which 
prompted  the  Great  Treasurer  to  dictate,  in  this  way, 
a  policy  of  consolidation  rather  than  expansion.  It 
was  all  made  clear  enough  next  year !  For  a  while  all 
went  well  outwardly.  But  signs  were  not  wanting  in 
certain  parts  of  China,  especially  in  the  northeastern 
pro^dnces,  that  below  the  surface  forces  were  at  work 
which  threatened  the  gravest  peril. 

Li  the  province  of  Shan-tung,  especially  in  the 
wild  western  mountainous  region  toward  Ho-nan, 
there  had  been  in  existence  for  upward  of  a  hundred 
years,  a  society  now  notorious,  but  then  little  known. 
Its  hidden  purpose,  like  that  of  many  other  secret 
societies  in  China,  had  been  to  liberate  the  people 
from  the  present  semi-foreign  Manchu  dynasty,  and 
to  seat  once  more  on  the  throne  a  Chinaman  as  the 
"Son  of  Heaven,"  "the  Yicar  of  the  Supreme  Ruler 
on  the  earth.''  This  society  had  been  firmly  held  in 
check  by  the  authorities,  and  had  done  no  harm  to 
speak  of,  at  any  rate  not  sufficient  for  its  fame  to 
spread. 

The  astonishing  German  reprisal  for  the  murder 
of  two  Catholic  missionaries  in  this  province,  which 
included  the  seizure  of  the  prosperous  port  of  Kiao- 
chau  and  the  territory  for  miles  around,  and  the  con- 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEABS.  383 

cession  of  mining  and  railroad  monopolies  tlirougli- 
out  the  province,  besides  the  building  of  memorial 
chapels  and  monuments  where  the  double  murder 
had  taken  place,  and  the  indemnification  of  the  mis- 
sionaries' relatives,  so  outraged  the  sense  of  justice 
of  the  governor  and  of  every  intelligent  official  in 
the  province  that  the  usual  animosity  against  for- 
eigners was  as  a  furnace  seven  times  heated.  This 
one  can  easily  understand,  when  to  radical  hatred  is 
added  fierce  indignation  at  outrageous  wrong.  The 
consequence  might  well  be  serious. 

Eussia,  moreover,  in  addition  to  her  steady  en- 
croachment in  Manchuria,  now  seized  Port  Arthur 
and  a  large  tract  of  adjacent  country,  besides  giving 
evidence  of  a  covetous  eye  toward  Korea,  the  inde- 
pendence of  which  had  been  guaranteed,  mainly 
through  Russian  influence,  at  the  close  of  China's 
disastrous  war  with  Japan. 

"To  maintain  the  balance  of  power"  in  the  East, 
England  demanded  the  cession  of  a  strip  of  the  main- 
land overlooking  the  island  of  Hong-kong,  as  well  as 
a  long  lease  of  Wei-hai-wei,  the  northern  port  which 
had  just  been  evacuated  by  the  Japanese,  their  war 
indemnity  having  been  paid  in  full.  And  only  a  few 
years  before,  it  will  be  remembered,  France  had 
seized  the  large  and  fertile  province  of  Ton-kin,  to 
the  south  of  China  proper. 

For  all  these  national  outrages  China  could  see, 
very  naturally,  neither  rhyme  nor  reason;  neither 
could  any  one  else.  It  was  enough  to  stir  the  bitterest 


3  84  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

animosity  that  can  be  stirred  in  any  people's  national 
consciousness,  especially  when  taken  in  conjunction 
with  the  long-standing  injustice,  the  unmitigated 
iniquity  of  the  opimn  traffic;  than  which,  probably, 
no  greater  national  crime  has  ever  been  committed 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  For,  a  hundred  years 
ago  China  was  practically  free  from  the  vice  of  opium 
smoking,  and  now  all  classes  of  its  people  are  being 
degraded,  steadily  and  increasingly,  by  the  use  of 
what  is  still  called  the  "foreign  drug.''  This,  as  every 
one  knows,  was  forced  upon  them  by  British  con- 
querors, in  spite  of  every  protest,  in  spite  of  every 
appeal  to  reason,  to  pity,  and  to  righteousness.  Well 
may  the  Chinese  hate  the  foreigner;  the  only  wonder 
is  that  they  do  not  hate  him  more ! 

In  the  year  1899  Italy  followed  up  the  various 
acts  of  rapacity  which  have  already  been  mentioned, 
by  asking  for  a  naval  station  at  San-mun  bay,  some 
distance  south  of  Shanghai.  "Even  a  worm  will 
turn:"  and  the  indignant  government  of  China  turned 
at  this  last  affront,  and  definitely  refused.  Their 
attitude  was  firm,  and  their  position  was  right;  and 
Italy  had  sufficient  moral  rectitude  to  accept  the 
refusal. 

But  an  unexpected  outcome  resulted.  Certain  ad- 
visers of  the  government  felt :  We  have  only  to  op- 
pose all  this  reckless  aggression,  and  our  territory 
will  remain  our  own.  "China  for  the  Chinese,^'  was 
their  position;  one  with  which  every  right-minded 
man  must  surely  sympathize.     And  the  counsels  of 


BLESSEDLY    UNEVENTFUL    YEAES.  385 

these  courageous,  if  misguided,  advisers  prevailed. 
But  the  rest  of  that  story  must  be  told  in  the  follow- 
ing chapter.  From  this  time  forward  trouble  began 
to  brew. 

25 


CHAPTEK   ly. 


THE  BOXER  CRISIS. 

The  year  1899  ended  ominously.  In  the  month  of 
November  the  Dowager  Empress  issued  an  edict 
which  fanned  the  smouldering  embers  of  resentment. 
After  reference  to  the  grave  difficulties  under  which 
the  empire  was  laboring,  the  edict  continued,  only 
too  truly,  ''The  various  powers  cast  upon  us  looks  of 
tiger-like  voracity,  hustling  each  other  in  their  en- 
deavors to  be  first  to  seize  upon  our  territories.  They 
think  that  China,  having  neither  money  nor  troops, 
would  never  venture  to  go  to  war.  They  fail  to  un- 
derstand, however,  that  there  are  certain  things  to 
which  this  empire  can  never  consent. 

"Should  any  official  find  himself  so  hard  pressed 
that  nothing  but  war  would  settle  matters,  he  is  ex- 
pected to  set  himself,  resolutely,  to  work  out  his  duty 
to  this  end.  .  .  .  Under  such  circumstances 
there  is  no  possible  chance  of  .  .  .  immediate 
negotiation.  ISTever  should  the  word  ^peace'  fall  from 
tlie  lips  of  our  high  officials,  nor  should  it  even  for  a 
moment  rest  within  their  hearts.  With  such  a  coun- 
try as  ours,  with  her  vast  area,  her  immense  re- 
sources, and  hundreds  of  millions  of  inhabitants,  what 
indeed  is  there  to  fear  from  the  invader?  Let  no  one 
think  of  making  peace,  but  let  each  seek  tO'  preserve 

386 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS. 


387 


his  ancestral  home  and  graves  from  destruction  and 
spoliation  at  the  ruthless  hand  of  the  invader." 

The  effect  of  such  an  incendiary  proclamation — 
with  so  much  truth  behind  it — going  throughout  the 
empire  and  posted  in  large  characters  in  each  city, 
could  not  but  be  tremendous.  And  the  last  day  of 
the  old  year  brought  sad  warning  of  the  coming  storm 
in  the  death  of  the  Kev.  S.  P.  Brooks,  of  the  S.  P.  G., 
in  the  boundary  country  between  Shan-tung  and 
Chih-li. 

Before  continuing  the  dark  story  of  the  troubles  in 
China,  it  will  perhaps  be  well  to  leave  the  regular 
historical  sequence  for  a  moment  to  recall  one  or  two 
occasions  whereby  the  hearts  of  many  were  prepared 
of  God  for  what  would  follow. 

The  last  week  of  April,  1900,  witnessed  the  great- 
est missionary  gathering  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Representatives  of  all  the  principal  Missionary  Socie- 
ties, Directors,  Secretaries,  Board-men,  Councillors, 
and  800  missionaries  of  over  100  Societies,  gathered 
together  on  the  23rd  of  April,  in  the  great  and  hos- 
pitable city  of  New  York. 

The  Conference  was  greeted  and  welcomed  at  its 
opening  session  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
and  the  Governor  of  the  ^'Empire''  State.  Between 
four  and  five  thousand  people  crowded  the  Carnegie 
Music  Hall,  beside  two  simultaneous  overflow  meet- 
ings, with  an  attendance  of  two  or  three  thousand 
each.  And  these  multitudes  gathered  day  by  day  for 
a  week  and  a  half  to  hear  of  the  progress  and  consider 


388  THESE    FOETY    TEARS. 

the  problems  of  Avorld-wide  evangelization.  The  Con- 
ference closed  on  the  1st  of  May,  with  a  farewell 
address  from  an  ex-President  of  the  United  States, 
Benjamin  Harrison.  The  whole  city  was  stirred. 
The  news  of  the  meetings  was  telegraphed  all  over 
the  continent,  and  indeed  through  Christendom. 
And  the  great  heart  of  the  Church  universal 
^'thanked  God''  for  the  results  which  the  nineteenth 
century  had  witnessed,  ^^and  took  courage"  for  the 
days  to  come,  little  thinking  what  dark  days  would 
supervene  in  the  immediate  future. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  the  Providence 
of  God  timed  this  great  gathering — for  which  such 
an  array  of  incontrovertible  facts  had  been  brought 
together,  as  to  the  progress  of  the  cause  of  Christ 
throughout  the  world. 

For  the  members  and  friends  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  the  Annual  Meetings  held  in  London  four 
weeks  later  were  also  profoundly  encouraging  in 
many  ways;  and  especially,  perhaps,  by  reason  of  one 
significant  incident  which  occurred  on  May  29th. 

For  a  day  or  two  previously,  thirty  or  forty  mem- 
bers on  furlough  gathered  three  times  a  day  for 
special  prayer.  At  one  of  these  meetings,  Mr. 
Sloan,  the  Secretary,  mentioned  the  matter  of  funds, 
which  he  felt  perfectly  free  to  do,  as  no  one  else  was 
present.  "For  three  months,"  he  said,  "our  receipts 
have  been  considerably  below  the  average,  and  have 
fallen  short  of  our  usual  income  by  £5,000.  Of 
course, we  are  not  in  debt;  we  never  do  go  into  debt,  as 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  389 

you  know;  but  I  grieve  to  think  of  the  embarrassment 
that  may  result  on  the  field  to  many  branches  of  the 
work.  Happily,  the  personal  needs  of  all  the  mis- 
sionaries have  been  provided  for,  but  in  order  that 
the  work  may  go  on  unimpeded,  I  should  be  glad  if 
we  might  all  unite  in  agreed  prayer  to  God,  that  He 
will  graciously  mahe  up  the  deficiency.''^ 

Prayer  followed,  and  praise— one  worker,  after 
thanking  the  Lord  for  all  His  gracious  provision  for 
the  work  during  thirty-five  years,  went  on  to  praise 
Him   for   the   coming   answer   to  the   petition  for 

£5,000. 

l^ext  day,  just  before  the  great  evening  meeting, 
the  other  Secretary,  Mr.  "Wood,  recognized  in  the 
rear  of  the  hall  a  warm  friend  and  regular  con- 
tributor from  the  north  of  England.    After  shaking 
hands  with  him,  and  asking  him  if  he  had  come  three 
hundred  miles  on  purpose  to  be  present,  which  proved 
to  be  the  case,  Mr.  Wood  invited  him  to  take  a  seat  on 
the  platform,  where  he  would  hear  better.  This  he  de- 
clined, on  account  of  the  necessity  of  catching  a  return 
train  after  the  meeting.    And  then  he  handed  Mr. 
Wood  an  envelope,  saying  that  from  the  published 
list  of  donations  in  CUna's  Millions  he  had  noticed 
that  for  three  months  the  receipts  had  been  consid- 
erably below  par,  and  added  that  he  felt  the  Lord  had 
laid  it  on  his  heart  to  ''make  up  the  deficiency."    The 
envelope    contained  a  check  for  £5,000,  and    was 
signed  and  dated  the  day  before,  the  very  day  on 
which  such  earnest  and  expectant  prayer  went  up  to 


390  THESE    rOKTY    YEAKS. 

God,  three  hundred  miles  away,  for  just  that 
sum.  The   grateful    conviction — the    Lord   is 

with  us — came  to  the  scattered  members  of  the  Mis- 
sion, as  they  heard  of  this  gracious  provision  of  the 
Lord. 

January,  1900,  was  but  five  days  old,  when  the  now 
infamous  "father  of  the  Boxers,'^  Yu-hsien,  was  sum- 
moned to  Pekin,  and  superseded  as  governor  of  Shan- 
tung by  an  enlightened  and  honorable  statesman,  the 
present  Viceroy  Yuan  Wei-t'ing  (better  known 
among  foreigners  by  his  less  dignified  given  name  of 
Yuan  Shi-k'ai),  whose  personal  friendship  has  been 
both  a  pleasure  and  a  help  to  the  writer. 

So  far,  good.  For  Yu-hsien,  who  had  been  rapidly 
promoted  a  year  or  so  previously  from  being  prefect 
of  Ts'ao-chau  to  the  governorship  of  Shan-tung,  had 
encouraged  and  fostered  the  feeble  society  of 
"Boxers"  until  it  had  become  a  very  formidable  or- 
ganization. 'Now,  however,  he  was  at  Pekin,  nomi- 
nally under  the  imperial  displeasure. 

Only  two  months  later,  after  lavish  expenditure  of 
money  at  the  capital,  Yu-hsien  was  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  Shan-si,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
degraded  so  shortly  before  for  acknowledged  com- 
plicity in  the  grave  troubles  in  Shan-tung,  which  cul- 
minated in  the  murder  of  Mr.  Brooks. 

Remonstrance  at  this  extraordinary  appointment 
was  of  no  avail.  The  new  governor  was  accompa- 
nied, or  preceded,  to  T'ai-yuan  the  capital  of  Shan-si, 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  391 

by  companies  of  Boxers,  who  drilled  in  their  military 
arts  and  initiated  into  their  occult  practices,  num- 
berless men  and  boys  throughout  this  and  neighbor- 
ing provinces.  Thus,  through  the  northeast  of 
China,  the  Boxer  peril  grew. 

Within  a  few  weeks  of  this  time  the  storm  clouds 
began  to  burst.  Yu-hsien  was  appointed  governor  of 
Shan-si  on  the  15th  of  March;  on  the  14th  day  a  lead- 
ing Christian,  Elder  Si,  was  fiercely  attacked  and 
stabbed  by  the  Boxers.  This  man  Si,  a  greatly  be- 
loved member  of  the  Church  at  Hung-tung,  was  a 
man  of  a  beautiful  spirit,  and  had  been  unanimously 
elected  four  years  previously  as  the  successor  to  the 
lamented  Pastor  Hsi,  as  superintendent  of  the  opium 
work  and  native"  missionary  society  in  N^orth  China, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made. 

Dr.  Millar  Wilson,  reckless  of  the  risk  to  his  own 
life,  went  immediately  to  do  what  he  could  for  the 
elder,  and  as  a  result  his  life  was  saved.  The  shock, 
however,  seriously  affected  his  health,  followed  as  it 
was  by  months  of  terrible  sufferings  and  privations. 
And  after  about  a  year,  this  worthy,  faithful  follower 
of  the  Master  went  to  his  reward. 

It  was  natural  that  he  should  be  the  first  to  suffer. 
Was  he  not  the  leader  of  the  most  important  native 
missionary  movement  in  ^orth  China,  at  once  more 
exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  Boxers  in  his  country 
home,  and  less  under  the  protection  of  the  author- 
ities than  the  missionaries?  Malice  and  cowardice 
equally  pointed  him  out  as  the  first  butt  of  the  Boxer 


392  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

iury.  This,  however,  was  but  the  beginning  of 
troubles.  Nine  days  later  the  home  of  Pastor  Hsi's 
widow  was  attacked  and  this  courageous  and  devoted 
lady  severely  beaten.  This  was  before  any  of  the 
missionaries  in  Shan-si  had  suffered  violence. 

In  considering  the  events  that  follow,  we  shall 
bear  in  mind,  of  course,  that  for  all  this  exhibition 
of  antipathy,  there  were  great  and  sufficient  national 
reasons.  There  were,  in  addition,  several  important 
local  causes.  The  diversion  of  the  carrying  trade — 
an  immense  industry  in  a  country  like  China — from 
the  old  channels,  by  land,  canal,  and  river,  to  foreign- 
built  and  foreign-officered  steamships,  has  already 
been  referred  to  as  a  cause  of  discontent  to  many 
among  the  laboring  classes.  The  building  now  of 
railroads,  involving  the  survey  of  tracks  across  home- 
steads and  farms,  and,  worst  of  all,  ancestral  burying 
places,  aggravated  by  the  rapacity  of  the  native  offi- 
cials, through  whom  was  and  is  transacted  the  busi- 
ness of  acquiring  the  necessary  land,  called  forth 
wide-spread  and  often  bitter  resentment. 

These  operations  would  surely  interfere  with  and 
perhaps  ruin  the  Feng-shui — the  geomantic  influences 
that  make  for  weal  or  woe.  Of  this  there  was  ample 
proof,  to  those  whose  minds  were  already  made  up, 
by  the  long-continued  drought  and  famine.  Even 
the  telegraph  wires  and  poles,  now  found  in  every 
province,  were  serious  disturbers  of  the  peace! 

Moreover,  in  the  year  1899,  the  long  struggle  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  priests  for  political  power  and 


ft 


ENGAGED    IN    THE    CARRYING    TRADE. 


HARROWING    A    RICE    FIELD    WITH    A    WATER    BUFFALO. 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  393 

prestige  came  to  a  climax,  we  cannot  say  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue,  when,  as  the  result  of  long-continued 
pressure  from  the  French  ambassador  and  others, 
an  imperial  decree  was  promulgated  conferring  offi- 
cial status  upon  every  Catholic  priest  in  the  country, 
and  very  high  official  status  at  that.  For  bishops 
rank  with  viceroys,  archdeacons  with  great  provin- 
cial mandarins,  and  the  ordinary  clergymen  with  pre- 
fects and  other  local  magnates. 

It  was  all  they  had  desired  and  agitated  for  for 
years.  At  last  they  had  gained  the  day.  And  with  it 
they  had  gained  also  an  added  hatred  throughout  the 
empire.  For  the  interference  of  the  Koman  Catholic 
priests,  in  civil  and  legal  matters  at  the  native  law 
court's,  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  all  the  grievances 
which  the  Chinese  complain  of,  and  writhe  under, 
at  the  hands  of  foreigners.  Again  and  again 

during  the  troubles  which  followed  the  lives  of 
Protestant  missionaries  were  saved  by  their  being 
able  to  prove  that  they  were  not  Catholic,  but  Prot- 
estant, workers. 

And,  probably,  the  last  and  culminating  cause  of 
trouble  was  the  open  proposal  to  "partition  the  em- 
pire'' among  the  "Powers"  of  the  West.  Anyone  can 
see  that,  groaning  under  such  wrongs  and  grievances, 
serious  trouble  might  well  not  only  be  feared,  but 
be  expected. 

As  will  long  be  remembered.  May  ended  with  the 
representatives  of  foreign  Powers  and  a  number  of 


394  THESE    FOETY    YEAKS. 

missionaries  beleaguered  in  Pekin.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  month  some  hundreds  of  foreign  soldiers  and 
marines  arrived  to  protect  the  legations,  and  from  that 
time  onward  communication  with  the  coast  was  cut 
off  by  the  destruction  of  the  Pekin-T'ien-tsin  Rail- 
way. It  is  needless  here  to  describe  the  six  weeks  of 
siege  which  followed:  six  weeks  during  which  the 
diplomatic  representatives  of  the  Western  world  and 
the  missionaries  were  brought  into  contact  under 
exceptionally  trying  circumstances.  The  opinion 
formed  from  that  association  will  be  gathered  from 
the   following  letter   from  United   States   Minister 

Conger: 

"Peking,  August  16th,  1900. 

"The  Besieged  American  Missionaries:  To  one  and  all 
of  you,  so  providentially  saved  from  certain  massacre: 

"I  beg,  in  this  hour  of  our  deliverance,  to  express  what  I 
know  to  be  the  universal  sentiment  of  our  diplomatic  corps 
— the  sincere  appreciation  of,  and  profound  gratitude  for 
the  inestimable  help  which  you  and  the  native  Christians 
under  you  have  rendered  toward  our  preservation.  Without 
your  intelligent  and  successful  planning,  and  the  uncom- 
plaining execution  of  work  by  the  Chinese,  I  believe  our 
salvation  would  have  been  impossible. 

"By  your  courteous  consideration  of  me,  and  your  con- 
tinued patience  under  most  trying  occasions,  I  have  been 
most  deeply  touched,  and  for  it  all  I  thank  you  most 
heartily. 

"I  hope  and  believe  that  somehow,  in  God's  unerring 
plan,  your  sacrifices  and  danger  will  bear  rich  fruit  in  the 
material  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  to  whom  you 
have  so  nobly  devoted  your  lives  and  works. 

"Assuring  you  of  my  personal  respect  and  gratitude, 
very  sincerely  yours, 

"E.  H.  Conger." 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  395 

The  first  members  of  the  China  Inland  Mission 
to  lay  down  their  lives  were  thirteen  Swedish  mis- 
sionaries in  the  far  north  of  Shan-si.  They  were 
martyred  on  or  about  the  29th  of  June.  Previously 
to  this  two  more  members  of  the  English  Episcopal 
S.  P.  G.  were  murdered  in  the  south  of  Chih-li; 
and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  a  member  of  the 
Sheo-yang  Mission  laid  down  her  life  at  T'ai-yuan. 
On  the  last  day  of  the  same  sad  month,  Miss  Whit- 
church and  Miss  Searell,  of  the  China  Inland  Mis- 
sion, were  murdered  at  a  station  three  days  south 
of  the  Shan-si  capital. 

For  full  and  authentic  details  concerning  these 
and  other  workers,  and  their  triumphant  death,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  profoundly  interesting  hisr 
tory,  ^'Martyred  Missionaries,"*  which  not  only  con- 
tains a  record  of  the  grace  and  courage  given  to  these 
martyrs  before  and  in  the  hour  of  death,  but  also 
contains  thrilling  accounts  of  how  scores  of  other 
missionaries  were  delivered,  as  by  a  miracle,  from 
countless  dangers  and  perils  and  hardships,  and 
finally,  by  the  good  hand  of  God  were  brought  down 
to  the  coast  and  to  peace. 

Mr.  Moody  was  once  asked,  after  one  of  his  great 
and  successful  meetings:  "Have  you  grace  to  be  a 
martyr?"  "ISTo,"  he  replied,  "I  have  not.  But  if 
God  wanted  me  to  be  one.  He  would  give  me  a 
martyr's  grace."    That  this  was  indeed  so  with  those 

♦"Martyred   Missionaries"    may   be   ordered   from   the 
offices  of  the  Mission.     Price,  $1.25,  postpaid. 


396  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

who  were  called  to  lay  down  their  lives  at  this  time 
there  can  be  little  doubt.  The  last  letters  of  the 
martyrs  are  among  the  most  touching  things  that 
have  ever  been  written,  some  of  them  especially. 
Space  will  only  admit  of  quoting  three  out  of  many 
other  similar  letters  that  might  be  adduced. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  after  the  legations  had  been 
besieged  for  four  weeks,  and  the  missionaries  further 
inland  had  come  through  weeks  of  gravest  anxiety 
and  peril.  Miss  Edith  Sear  ell  wrote  to  a  fellow- 
missionary  in  a  neighboring  station:  "A  mighty  fort- 
ress is  our  God:  and  in  Him  we  are  safe  for  time 
and  for  eternity.  Shall  we  murmur  if  we  have  less 
of  time  than  we  expected?  The  less  of  time  the  more 
of  heaven."  Two  days  later  she  was  with  the  Lord. 
When  this  Miss  Searell  was  leaving  home  (E'ew  Zea- 
land) for  China  in  1895,  just  before  the  steamer 
sailed,  she  said  to  a  friend:  "There  is  nothing  I  would 
count  a  greater  honor  than  to  wear  a  martyr's 
crown." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peat  were  old  and  valued  workers 
of  the  Mission.  When  hiding  among  the  hills  prior 
to  their  martyrdom  Mr.  Peat  wrote  to  his  loved  ones 
at  home:  "The  soldiers  are  just  on  us.  .  .  .  We 
shall  soon  be  with  Christ,  which  is  very  far  better 
for  us.  We  can  only  now  be  sorry  for  you  who  are 
left  behind,  and  our  dear  native  Christians.  Good- 
bye. We  rejoice  that  we  are  made  partakers  of  the 
Bufferings  of  Christ." 

At  the  same  time  Miss  May  I^athan  was  in  hiding 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  397 

with  two  other  missionaries  not  very  far  away  from 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peat.  In  her  last  long  letter  to  her 
mother  she  says:  "Who  will  be  the  next?  Perhaps 
we  shall.  .  .  .  Darling  mother,  don't  be  anxious, 
whatever  news  you  may  hear  of  me.  It  will  seem 
useless  in  the  eyes  of  the  world  to  come  out  here 
for  a  year,  to  be  just  getting  on  with  the  language, 
then  to  be  cut  off.  Many  will  say,  ^Why  did  she  go? 
Wasted  life.'  Darling,  no.  Trust: — God  does  His 
very  best,  and  never  makes  mistakes.  .  .  .  We 
are  glad  to  suffer  with  Jesus.  .  .  .  Death  is  but 
the  gate  of  life;  we  shall  see  His  face,  and  darling 
mother,  I'll  wait  and  long  for  you  there." 

The  worst  time  of  all  was  that  long,  hot,  temble 
mid-summer  month  of  July.  On  its  first  day  the 
Deputy  Director  in  China,  Mr.  William  Cooper,  uni- 
versally beloved  throughout  the  Mission,  was  mur- 
dered at  Pao-ting  Eu,  Chih-li,  with  Mr.  Bagnall  and 
his  wife  and  child. 

About  this  time  was.  promulgated  that  cruelest  of 
all  the  decrees  of  the  Dowager  Empress,  the  in- 
famous secret  edict: 

"Yang-ren  pi  shah, 
T'ui  huei  ki  shah." 

"All  foreigners  must  be  killed; 
Though  fleeing  homeward,  kill  them." 

After  this,  of  course,  rioting  became  general  in 
the  provinces  nearest  to  the  capital.    Happily,  how- 


398  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

ever,  the  resolute  stand  taken  by  the  two  Yang-tse 
Viceroys,  their  Excellencies  Chang  Chih-tung  and 
Liu  K'un-yi,  prevented  the  spread  of  this  sanguinary 
persecution  throughout  the  empire;  indeed,  pre- 
vented it  in  three-fourths  of  China,  with  the  sole  ex- 
ception of  a  disturbed  district  in  the  southern  prov- 
ince of  Cheh-kiang.  Here  the  provincial  judge  pre- 
vailed ujDon  the  governor  to  forward  to  Kiu-chau  the 
above-mentioned  "secret  edict,''  delaying  until  too 
late  the  friendly  agreement  entered  into  by  the  Yang- 
tse  viceroys  with  the  foreign  Powers,  which  was  to 
the  effect  that,  come  what  may,  they  would  afford 
adequate  protection  to  foreigners  and  native  Chris- 
tians alike. 

The  most  terrible  occurrence  of  all  this  deplorable 
time  was  on  the  afternoon  of  July  9th,  at  T'ai-yuan, 
where  the  governor  of  Shan-si  beheaded  twenty-five 
Protestant  missionaries,  nine  children  and  eleven 
Roman  Catholic  priests.  The  suspense  and  anxiety 
and  hardships  through  which  they  had  come  lasted 
for  several  weeks,  but  it  is  comforting  to  know  that 
the  end  was  brief,  and  that  none  of  the  adults  showed 
any  signs  of  fear,  some  of  the  children  merely  cover- 
ing their  faces  with  their  hands.  After  beheading 
these  missionaries,  the  governor  reported  this  action 
to  Pekin,  and  there  and  then  claimed  the  prize-money 
— sixty  ounces  of  silver  each — ^for  the  foreigners, 
most  of  whom  he  had  invited  into  his  Yamen  for 
protection. 

Among  the  missionaries'  children  who  thus  laid 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  399 

down  their  lives  on  July  9tli,  were  the  two  little 
daughters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atwater,  of  the  American 
Board,  who  themselves,  five  weeks  later,  were  mar- 
tyred near  Fen-chau  Fu.  One  of  Mrs.  Atwater's  last 
letters  (written  after  two  months  of  suspense)  refers 
to  the  death  of  her  step-daughters  with  the  rest  of 
the  missionary  company  at  T'ai-yuan,  and  continues, 
^'I  am  preparing  for  the  end  very  quietly  and  calmly. 
The  Lord  is  wonderfully  near,  and  He  will  not  fail 
me.  I  was  very  restless  and  excited  wliile  there 
seemed  a  chance  of  life,  but  God  has  taken  away  that 
feeling,  and  now  I  just  pray  for  grace  to  meet  the 
terrible  end  bravely.  The  pain  will  soon  be  over; 
and  oh,  the  sweetness  of  the  welcome  above !  My 
little  baby  will  go  with  me.  I  think  God  will  give  it 
to  me  in  heaven.  ...  I  cannot  imagine  the  Saviour's 
welcome.  That  will  compensate  for  all  these  days 
of  suspense.  .  .  .  I  do  not  regret  coming  to  China, 
but  I  am  sorry  I  have  done  so  little.  My  married 
life,  two  precious  years,  has  been  so  very  full  of  hap- 
piness. We  will  die  together,  my  dear  husband 
and  I." 

About  the  same  time  as  the  T'ai-yuan  tragedy, 
rioting  commenced  in  the  province  of  Ho-nan,  im- 
mediately to  the  south.  But  here,  as  by  a  miracle, 
every  life  was  spared,  and  although  the  missionaries 
escaped  as  best  they  could,  and  had  to  suffer  many 
perils  and  privations,  they  all  at  last,  in  answer  to 
many  prayers,  came  safely  to  the  coast.  Wonderful, 
indeed,  was  the  escape  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conway  and 


400  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

their  little  infant,  with  Dr.  Whitfield  Guinness  and 
Miss  Watson,  from  Shae-k'i-tien. 

The  Mission  premises  were  wrecked  when  the  riot- 
ing began,  and  were  soon  entirely  destroyed.  For 
fifteen  long  days  the  four  missionaries  and  the  month- 
old  baby  were  in  hiding  in  the  homes  mostly  of 
heathen  friends  and  neighbors,  through  whose  gen- 
erous aid  they  finally  succeeded  in  escaping.  During 
these  two  awful  weeks  they  were  being  pursued  by 
mandarins,  soldiers,  and  rioters  that  they  might  kill 
them,  in  obedience  to  the  imperial  edict.  After 
almost  incredible  escapes  they  at  last  got  clear  away 
in  carts.  Some  miles  below  the  town  they  were 
transferred  to  a  boat,  and  so  came  safely  down,  by 
the  Han  river,  to  Han-kow. 

Of  all  these  long  and  terrible  journeys,  the  most 
eventful,  probably,  was  that  of  Mr.  Saunders,  his 
family  and  fellow-missionaries,  who  traveled  for 
seven  long  weeks  through  Shan-si,  Ho-nan,  and  Hu- 
peh.  Two  days  south  of  T'ai-yuan  is  the  important 
banking  center  of  P'ing-yao,  where  Mr.  Saunders 
had  been  stationed  for  many  years.  Toward  the 
end  of  June  this  station  was  rioted  and  looted.  The 
missionaries  escaped  safely  to  the  Yamen;  but  find- 
ing that  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  officials  to 
protect  them  there,  they  left  next  morning  at  day- 
break, under  official  escort,  for  T'ai-yuan.  When 
within  seven  miles  of  that  city  they  were  met,  provi- 
dentially, by  a  native  Christian,  who  told  them  of 
the  rioting  in  the  city,  that  Miss  Coombs  had  already 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS. 


401 


been  killed,  and  that  the  rest  were  surrounded  by 
thousands  of  people  in  the  home  of  the  Rev.  G.  B. 
Farthing,  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission. 

Seeing  that  it  was  certain  death  to  proceed,  they 
turned  southward.  Another  week's  journey,  paying 
blackmail  repeatedly,  brought  them  to  Lu-ch'eng, 
where  they  foimd  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  J.  Cooper  and 
other  missionaries.  These  heard  now  for  the  first 
time  authentic  reports  of  what  was  going  on  at  the 
capital,  and  so,  through  the  soldier  escort,  did  the 
people  of  the  district. 

After  the  briefest  possible  delay  they  all  started 
out  together,  eight  missionaries  and  six  children,  and 
the  account  of  the  next  week's  travel  is  one  of  the 
crudest  things  on  record.  During  that  week  one  of 
his  company  was  beaten  to  death,  all  of  the  party 
were  for  two  days  without  food  and  water,  save  grass 
and  the  dirty  puddles  by  the  roadside.  They  were 
robbed  of  everything  they  possessed,  being  left  for 
part  of  the  time  with  only  one  garment  apiece,  bare- 
headed, bare-shouldered,  and  barefooted,  under  that 
almost  tropical  summer  sun:  yet  not  one  of  them  suf- 
fered from  sunstroke.  They  were  reminded  of  the 
promise,  "The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day."  But 
as  a  result  of  those  eight  days  of  hardship  and  priva- 
tion, of  cruel  beatings  and  persecutions,  another  mis- 
sionary, Miss  Huston,  died  a  month  later  from  a 
wound  in  the  head,  and  Mrs.  Ernest  Cooper  followed 
her  within  a  week. 

As  soon  as  they  passed  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of 


402  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

Governor  Yu-hsien,  things  became  a  little  better. 
But  even  then  they  were  forwarded  across  Ho-nan, 
from  city  to  city,  as  common  criminals,  and  suffered 
severely  from  the  hardships  of  such  traveling  by  day, 
and  from  being  crowded  together  in  filthy  prisons  by 
night.  At  K'ioh-shan,  which  for  a  short  time,  years 
before,  had  been  a  station  of  the  Mission,  they  re- 
ceived some  kindness;  and  at  Sin-yang  (the  present 
limit,  1902,  of  the  railroad  that  is  rapidly  being 
pushed  northward  from  Han-kow)  they  were  very 
kindly  treated  by  the  mandarin. 

No  sooner  had  they  reached  the  province  of  Hu- 
peh  than  they,  and  some  otlier  missionaries  who  had 
joined  them  at  Sin-yang,  were  treated  with  every 
possible  kindness,  owing  to  the  friendly  attitude  of 
his  Excellency  Chang  Chih-tung.  And  after  seven 
long  weeks  and  a  journey  of  900  miles,  much  of  it 
on  foot,  they  at  last  reached  safely  the  Mission  Home 
at  Han-kow. 

A  hundred  miles  north  of  this  city,  Mrs.  Cooper 
could  go  no  farther.  Her  life  had  been  beautiful: 
and  in  deatli  her  faith  was  strong,  and  her  love  for 
the  people  unabated  after  all  that  had  transpired. 
There  was  just  one  regret  on  her  mind,  beside  the 
natural  pain  of  leaving  husband  and  children,  and 
this  was — that  she  could  not  return  to  Shan-si,  which 
she  so  ardently  desired,  that  she  might  tell  the  people 
more  of  the  love  of  Jesus  for  them. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  give  further  details  of 
this  period.     But  it  is  only  right  to  say  that  certain 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  403 

grievous  statements  about  lady  missionaries,  which 
appeared  in  many  of  the  daily  papers  at  the  time, 
were  absolutely  untrue.*  The  facts  which  have  been 
given  above  are  examples,  in  briefest  outline,  of  what 
did  actually  happen ;  permitted  of  God  in  wisdom,  we 
cannot  doubt,  and  in  love,  for  some  sufficient  reason. 
We  may  safely  look  to  Him  to  vindicate  Himself  in 
due  season.     Of  this  there  will  be  more  to  say  later. 

One  other  case  may,  perhaps,  be  mentioned — the 
experience  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Green  and  Miss  Gregg, 
of  Hwai-lu,  in  the  province  of  Chih-li.  These  mis- 
sionaries, after  fleeing  to  the  mountains  and  remain- 
ing in  hiding  for  some  weeks,  at  length  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  Boxers.  (The  whole  story  is  most 
touchingly  told,  without  a  trace  of  unkindly  feeling 
toward  their  persecutors,  in  "Martyred  Missionaries" 
and  in  the  booklet,  "In  Death's  Oft,"  by  Mr.  Green.) 
For  three  months  they  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
Boxers,  suffering  many  hardships  and  privations,  and 
hurried  from  one  place  to  another.  On  seven  suc- 
cessive occasions  the  Boxers  determined  to  put  them 
to  death.  But  their  time  was  not  yet:  each  time  it 
was  prevented,  until  at  length  their  captors  said, 
"These  people  live  a  charmed  life;  we  cannot  kill 
them:  we  had  better  let  them  go." 

On  one  occasion  they  were  taken  from  the  city, 
where  they  had  been  imprisoned  for  soiil^  time,  down 
the  river.     Their  guard  had  secret  orders  from  the 

♦See  China's  Millions  for  February,  1901.    Article  by  B. 
Broomhall,  on  page  18  (London  Edition). 


404  THESE    FOKTY    YEARS. 

mandarin  to  put  them  to  death  in  a  lonelj  spot  by 
the  river,  that  no  blame  might  fall  on  the  city  or  on 
him.  As  they  floated  down  the  stream  the  callous 
soldiers  sharpened  their  swords  before  the  eyes  of 
their  victims.  Remonstrance  was  useless.  The  boat 
was  brought  to  anchor  and  they  were  told  to  go 
ashore.  Mr.  Green,  carrying  baby  John  in  his  arms, 
left  the  boat  first,  in  order  to  help  the  ladies  ashore, 
and  little  five-year-old  Vera  and  the  ladies  followed. 
"When  they  reached  the  bank  Mr.  Green  turned  and 
gave  the  captain  of  the  boat  a  bow  in  Chinese  style, 
saying  as  he  did  so,  "Thank  you,  sir."  Little  Vera 
then  crossed  her  hands,  and  making  the  captain  a 
charming  bow  (like  a  little  Chinese  lady),  repeated 
her  father's  words,  and  said,  "Thank  you,  sir.''  All 
this  was  too  much  for  the  burly  captain.  He  turned 
to  his  men,  and  said,  "Look  here,  men,  we  cannot  kill 
these  people;  we  had  better  leave  them  alone."  And 
he  sprang  on  his  boat,  called  off  his  followers,  and 
again  they  were  saved !  At  last  God  raised  up 

a  friend,  in  a  Chinaman,  who,  after  secretly  convey- 
ing a  message  of  sympathy  to  them  announcing  his 
plan  and  good  wishes,  went  down  to  T'ien-tsin  and 
brought  a  rescue  party,  by  whom,  at  last,  they  were 
escorted  to  the  coast. 

This  was,  of  course,  far  on  in  the  autumn.  One 
other  party  still  remained  in  Shan-si,  under  official 
protection,  after  many  weeks  of  hiding  among  the 
hills.  During  the  winter  they  came  do^vn  to  Han- 
kow under  suitable  escort,  arriving  early  in  1901. 


THE    BOXER    CRISIS.  405 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  suffenngs  of  the  mis- 
eionaries.  It  has  not  been  possible  to  say  much  about 
the  similar  experiences  of  the  native  Christians, 
which  have  not  only  endeared  them  to  the  hearts  of 
their  missionary  brethren,  but  have  raised  them  high 
in  the  esteem  of  the  Christian  world. 

Their  old  contemptuous  nickname  of  "rice  Chris- 
tians" (mercenary  pretenders),  is  now  seldom,  if  ever, 
heard  at  the  treaty  ports.  ISTearly  three  hundred 
Protestant  church  members  were  killed  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Shan-si.  In  Chih-li  and  Shan-tung  many 
more  were  massacred,  refusing  to  recant;  refusing, 
even  though  it  was  explained  to  them  as  a  purely 
nominal  recantation.  ]^o,  they  would  not  deny  their 
Lord  and  Saviour.  Cruelties,  like  those  of  the  Inqui- 
sition, were  tried  in  vain.  Others  were  hunted  away 
from  their  homes ;  they  hid  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth;  they  were  "destitute,  afflicted,  tormented,"  "of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,"  and  in  many,  many 
cases  they  were  faithful  unto  death. 

Some  there  w^ere,  of  course,  who  recanted  under 
the  double  strain  of  those  awful  times,  and  of  kindly 
official  persuasion.  Little  wonder  that  some  failed 
and  fell!  Surely,  imder  similar  circumstances — if 
such  were  possible — it  would  have  been  much  the 
same  in  a  Christian  country.  And  since  missionary 
operations  have  been  resumed,  bitter  has  been  the 
sorrow  and  repentance  expressed  by  many  of  those 
who  recanted. 

As  to  the  sufferings  of  beloved  friends  at  home, 


406  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

it  is  needless,  perhaps,  to  saj  mucli  in  this  place.  God 
knows :  and  God  will  not  forget  the  anguish  they  suf- 
fered for  His  sake.  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  who  was  in 
Switzerland  slowly  convalescing  after  serious  over- 
work, suffered  all  that  terrible  summer  as  poignantly 
as  any  one  out  of  China.  So  keen  was  his  anguish  of 
heart  for  his  dear  friends  in  the  field  that  for  some 
time  he  could  not  sleep,  he  could  not  eat,  he  could 
hardly  think  or  even  pray.  His  condition  became  so 
serious  that  it  was  necessary  to  withhold  the  cable- 
grams and  other  news  until  he  was  able  to  recover  a 
little  and  hear  in  outline  the  remainder  of  the  long, 
sad  tale.  When  it  was  all  over,  and  the  escaped 
workers  were  at  last  safely  at  the  coast,  he  repeatedly 
expressed  the  wish  that  he  might  return  to  China,  if 
it  were  only  to  weep  with  those  who  had  come 
through  so  much  for  Jesus'  sake. 

Mr.  Taylor  did  not  have  that  privilege,  and  still 
(at  seventy-one  years  of  age)  has  to  spend  most  of  the 
time  in  Switzerland.  His  general  health  is  in  large 
measure  restored,  in  answer  to  many  prayers,  and  he 
still  continues  to  exercise  a  general  directorate  over 
the  work.  All  matters  of  detail  are  left  in  other 
hands,  but  grave  problems  affecting  the  policy  and 
v/ell-being  of  the  Mission  as  a  whole,  are  regularly  re- 
ferred to  him.  Of  course,  many  such  problems  have 
arisen  in  connection  with  the  work  of  reconstruction, 
which  is  now  nearing  completion,  at  the  end  of  1902. 


CHAPTER     Y. 


REORGANIZATION. 


Before  the  work  of  reconstruction  could  be  com- 
menced, there  was  necessarily  an  interval  during 
which  large  numbers  of  missionaries  were  gathered  at 
the  coast.  Many  naturally  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  for  furlough — both  those  whose  health 
had  been  seriously  injured  by  the  anxiety  and  trou- 
bles in  the  north,  and  those  whose  vacation  was  due, 
or  nearly  due,  in  point  of  time  or  health.  A  much 
larger  number,  however,  remained  at  Shanghai, 
where  there  were  gathered  during  the  winter  of 
1900,  in  the  China  Inland  Mission  alone,  several  hun- 
dred missionaries.  The  opportunity,  it  need  hardly 
be  said,  was  improved  for  conference  and  study  of 
the  Word,  and  for  very  earnest  prayer,  especially 
that  God  would  work  all  these  things  together  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  Special  meetings  were 
held,  addressed  among  others,  by  Mr.  Henry  Frost 
and  Mr.  Walter  Sloan,  who  went  out  to  China  on 
purpose,  and  thus  the  time  was  not  lost. 

It  was  well  from  another  point  of  view  that  there 
should  be  this  interval  for  waiting  upon  God,  for  the 
problem  of  reorganization  which  had  now  to  be  faced, 
was  one  of  the  gravest  and  most  complex  which  had 
ever  come  before  the  leaders  of  the  Mission. 

There  were,  perhaps,  five  principal  elements  in 
407 


408  THESE   FORTY   YEARS. 

this  problem.  First  of  all,  as  concerned  the  Church 
itself,  what  should  be  said  and  what  should  be  done 
in  the  case  of  those  who  had  denied  their  faith  in 
Christ,  and  thus,  by  their  own  act,  severed  their  con- 
nection with  the  Church?  Due  weight,  of  course, 
would  be  given  to  the  terrible  stress  which  had  driven 
some  of  the  Christians  to  this  expedient.  E'othing 
would  be  gained,  however,  in  the  future  of  the  work 
by  overlooking  the  gravity  of  the  step  thus  taken. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  was  the  precedent,  the 
authoritative  precedent,  of  the  restoration  of  Peter. 
That  would,  of  course,  largely  rule  the  course  to  be 
taken  by  the  returning  missionaries. 

Secondly,  came  the  allied  questions  of  official  in- 
demnification for  the  losses  of  the  Mission  and  the 
compensation  which  was  due  to  the  native  Christians, 
many  of  whom  had  lost  their  all  and  were  without  the 
means  of  commencing  life  afresh.  As  to  the  former, 
there  was  uncertainty  for  a  time.  The  government 
of  the  country  had  taken  action,  deliberately,  which 
resulted  in  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars' worth  of  Mission  property.  For  this  they  were 
obviously  responsible,  both  morally  and  legally;  and 
while  it  has  been  a  rule  in  the  China  Inland  Mission 
never  to  claim  indemnification,  it  might  yet  be  right 
to  accept  it  under  these  circumstances,  both  in  view 
of  the  past  and  the  future. 

This  imj)ortant  question  was  under  considera- 
tion for  some  months.  But  when  the  facts  began 
to  transpire  of  the  shameful  and  outrageous  con- 


REORGANIZATION.  409 

duct  of  soldiers  representing  Russia  and  various  so- 
called  Christian  countries,  this  decided  the  ques- 
tion. Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  felt  that  money  wrung 
from  the  Chinese  in  such  a  way  as  this  (we  purposely 
draw  a  veil  over  the  revolting  details),  could  not  help 
forward  the  work  of  God.  The  Lord  does  not  need  to 
use,  to  accomplish  the  end  He  has  in  view  —  the 
evangelization  of  the  world — money  stained  with 
ruthless  outrage  and  the  murder  of  civilians  in  cold 
blood!  War  is  bad  enough  but  this  was  surely  de- 
testable. Under  these  circumstances  Mr.  Taylor 
cabled  to  China,  and  afterwards  wrote  in  more  detail, 
that,  as  a  Mission,  we  would  accept  no  indemnifica- 
tion either  for  life  or  property. 

The  question  of  the  native  Christians,  however, 
was  different.  Their  near  neighbors  had  been  en- 
riched by  their  spoliation,  under  sanction  of  the  cen- 
tral and  the  local  authorities.  In  common  equity,  in 
view  of  their  deplorable  present  condition,  and  in  view 
of  the  hopelessness  of  their  future,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  something  should  be  done  for  them. 
And  we  may  anticipate  here  that  the  line  of  action 
taken  was  to  carefully  audit  the  estimates,  encour- 
aging the  Christians  to  manifest  a  generous  and  for- 
giving spirit,  and  rather  to  underestimate  their  act- 
ual losses.  In  many  cases  their  claims  were  as  low  as 
fifty  per  cent,  of  their  actual  losses.  Mr.  Orr-Ewing, 
for  instance,  wrote  from  one  section  of  Shan-si  that 
he  could  not  conscientiously  have  asked  the  Chris- 
tians to  accept  so  little  as  they  claimed  and  received. 


410  THESE    FOKTY    YEARS. 

Thirdly,  there  was  a  consideration  of  peculiar  sig- 
nificance in  a  country  like  China — ^the  missionaries' 
loss  of  "face."  They  had  been  publicly  insulted  and 
put  to  shame  before  the  people  by  the  authorities. 
Unless  they  were  publicly  and  officially  reinstated  in 
the  respect  of  their  neighbors  they  would  continue 
to  be  at  the  mercy  of  every  ill-disposed  person,  and 
would  be  subject  to  insult  and  attack,  both  at  home  in 
their  stations,  and,  still  more,  abroad  when  traveling. 
The  importance  of  this  factor  will  be  easily  under- 
stood by  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Oriental 
and  his  way  of  viewing  things.  All  that  is  up  is  up 
because  it  ought  to  be,  and  that  which  is  down  is  down 
by  its  own  demerits.  This  is  the  general  impression 
in  China,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  gravity  of 
the  situation  from  this  point  of  view. 

These  three  aspects  of  the  problem  refer  primarily 
to  the  past,  the  deplorable  past.  The  other  two  have 
reference  mainly  to  the  future. 

One  of  these  was  a  new  danger.  Would  the  pendu- 
lum of  public  opinion  swing  over  to  the  opposite  ex- 
treme? When  the  native  Christians  were  recouped 
for  their  losses  and  restored  to  their  homes;  when 
the  missionaries  were  reinstated  in  their  rights  as 
men  and  as  law-abiding  residents,  might  there  not  be 
a  danger  of  people  seeking  to  join  the  Church  from 
unworthy  motives?  What  the  authorities  give  out 
goes  in  China:  just  as  what  the  papers  say  goes  at 
home,  for  most,  and  with  equal  reason.  When  the 
local  mandarians  and  gentry  combine  to  "welcome 


REORGANIZATION.  411 

back  the  missionaries,  and  to  express  their  sorrow  for 
the  past  (which,  indeed,  many  of  them  deplored 
deeply  at  the  time),  there  might  be  a  revulsion  of 
feeling  that  would  itself  constitute  a  fresh  danger 
to  the  Church  by  inclining  many  to  seek  admission 
without  understanding  the  Truth  or  undergoing  any 
change  of  heart.  Proclamations  favorable  to  Chris- 
tianity and  affording  protection  to  church  members 
might  be  misconstrued  as  a  sort  of  general  invitation 
to  join  the  now  ascendant  cause! 

This  new  incentive  would  especially  appeal  to 
people  engaged  in  lawsuits,  who  constitute  a  con- 
siderable proportion  of  the  population.  In  many 
cases  they  would  imagine  that  they  could  obtain  a 
"pull"  over  their  opponents  by  connecting  them- 
selves with  the  Christians.  For  this  impression  has 
gained  a  firm  hold  in  many  parts  of  China,  owing  to 
the  invariable  custom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  priests 
of  claiming  temporal  authority  over  their  converts, 
and  the  right  to  interfere  on  their  behalf  in  legal 
proceedings.  As  is  well  known,  the  attitude  of  the 
Eoman  Catholics  in  this  matter  has  brought  do^vn 
upon  them  the  cordial  hatred  of  their  neighbors  in 
many  provinces.  There  would  need  then,  for  this 
reason,  to  be  the  greatest  possible  caution  in  enrolling 
new  inquirers,  and  afterwards  in  admitting- them  to 
membership. 

Fifthly  and  lastly,  the  question  arises  of  the  meth- 
ods to  be  adopted  in  connection  with  the  native 
church.    How  best  shall  the  capacities  of  native  lead- 


412  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

ers  be  developed,  and  the  churclies  made  strong  and 
aggressive?  In  tlie  past  they  had  relied  too  much 
on  foreign  workers  and  on  foreign  funds.  The  im- 
portance of  developing  self-supporting  and  self-pro- 
progating  churches  throughout  the  country  is  increas- 
ingly felt  among  the  missionary  community.  The 
contrast  in  1900  between  certain  churches  which 
stood  fast  and  firm,  scarcely  losing  a  member  and 
not  intermitting  once  their  regular  Sunday  wor- 
ship, and  others  which  more  or  less  completely  suc- 
cumbed under  similar  surroundings,  has  greatly  em- 
phasized the  significance  of  this  point. 

And  in  this  connection  one  or  two  other  important  de- 
tails may  be  referred  to.  Mr.  Hudson  Taylor  has  drawn 
attention  to  the  fact  that  one  thing  probably  more  than  any 
other  tends  to  develop  a  strong  native  Church,  and  that  is 
the  regular  and  loyal  observance  of  the  Lord's  day.  "Those 
churches,"  he  said  years  ago,  "where  Sabbath  observance 
has  been  faithfully  taught  and  systematically  cultivated, 
would  stand  fast  and  continue  to  prosper  even  if  the  mis- 
sionaries were  withdrawn;  but  in  every  case  that  I  have 
had  the  opportunity  of  observing,  where  the  Christians  have 
been  allowed  to  be  lax  in  this  respect,  the  Church  has  been 
weak  and  would  in  all  probability  dwindle  or  disappear  if 
the  foreigners  were  to  leave."  The  writer's  limited  experi- 
ence entirely  corroborates  this  impression.  Obedience  to 
the  will  of  God  in  this  particular  seems  to  be  indispensable, 
if  He  is  to  establish  any  given  work.  And  this  the  Word 
clearly  teaches.  The  cause  may  go  forward  more  slowly  at 
first,  owing  to  the  grave  difficulties  that  surround  its  faith- 
ful observance  in  a  heathen  land  like  China,  but  it  grows 
more  rapidly  in  the  long  run,  and  much  more  surely  and 
strongly. 

The  absence  of  material  inducements  to  attend  services 
or  Join  the  Church  is  perhaps  an  equally  important  factor 


REORGANIZATTON.  413 

in  gaining  the  same  slow  but  sure  beginning,  followed  by- 
strong  and  steady  growth.  Where  food  is  provided  by  the 
missionaries  on  Sunday  for  those  who  attend  the  services, 
"that  they  may  be  able  to  stay  for  the  afternoon  meetings," 
and  where  tradesmen  know  that  by  joining  the  Church  they 
can  secure  the  foreigners'  custom,  a  weak  and  most  dis- 
couraging Church  invariably,  or  almost  invariably,  results. 
"Loaves  and  fishes  Christians"  are  worse  than  none  at  all. 
The  practical  importance  of  these  two  points  is  sufficient 
apology  for  reference  to  them  at  this  time. 

These  five  principal  considerations,  and  many 
others  also,  occupied  the  time  and  thoughts,  and  had 
a  large  place  in  the  prayers  of  the  Directors  and  the 
members  of  the  China  Council,  and  have  largely 
decided  the  procedure  of  the  individual  missionaries 
ii.;  returning  to  their  work. 


CHAPTEK   VI 


RECONSTRUCTIOiq". 

There  is  a  possibility  that  the  terrible  happenings 
of  1900  may  convey  a  wrong  impression.  It  is 
natural  that  the  conclusion  should  suggest  itself  that 
the  Chinese  are  a  fierce  and  cruel  people,  whereas 
the  fact  is  exactly  the  reverse.  Under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances they  are  peaceable  and  hospitable,  and 
quick  to  recognize  true  worth  when  it  appeals  to 
them  in  a  form  they  can  appreciate.  Of  course,  they 
are  heathen,  and  if  the  statement  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
be  true,  that  ^'the  whole  world  lieth  in  the  Wicked 
One"  (believers  only  excepted),  we  may  not  judge  of 
them  by  Christian  standards. 

To  show  how  far  they  are  from  being  sanguinary, 
the  two  following  facts  may  be  adduced.  In  the 
first  thirty-three  years  of  the  China  Inland  Mission, 
including  the  inauguration  of  the  work  throughout 
the  interior,  with  all  the  special  risks  of  pioneering 
in  new  districts,  not  one  life  was  lost  by  violence. 
And  secondly,  in  the  province  of  Shan-si  itself,  until 
1900,  there  had  never  been  a  single  riot  from  any 
cause  during  all  the  twenty-four  years  of  service 
since  the  first  China  Inland  Mission  workers  visited 
the  province.  Indeed,  even  then,  to  the  credit  of 
Shan-si  be  it  remembered,  the  dastardly  w^ork  was 
mostly  done  by  "Boxers,''  "people  of  a  strange,  un- 
couth speech,"  from  the  province  of  Shan-tung,  the 

414 


RECONSTRUCTION.  415 

"heavenly  soldiers/^  as  they  were  euphemistically 
called  by  the  terrorized  people. 

Before  passing  from  this  aspect  of  the  question,  it 
is  right,  also,  to  refer  to  the  great  kindness  shown  to 
many  missionaries  by  Chinese  officials,  high  and  low, 
even  at  the  worst  period  of  the  Boxer  crisis.  At  no 
little  peril  the  viceroys  of  the  Yang-tse  provinces 
suppressed  the  imperial  proclamations  commanding 
the  extirpation  of  foreigners  and  native  Christians, 
and  published,  on  their  own  responsibility,  counter- 
proclamations,  protecting  the  life  and  property  of 
both!  But  for  their  commanding  influence  in  the 
country,  and  the  fact  that  the  sequel  proved  them 
in  the  right,  they  would  doubtless  have  paid  for  their 
generous  audacity  with  their  lives. 

At  the  same  time  Tuan  Fang,  the  acting  governor 
of  Shen-si,  treated  the  missionaries  of  the  northwest 
with  the  greatest  consideration  and  kindness,  saving 
the  lives  of  ninety,  and  going  beyond  the  limits  of 
his  own  territory  in  affording  them  protection.  In 
addition  to  supplying  them  bountifully  with  travel- 
ing expenses,  he  refunded  money  which  had  been 
seized  by  robbers,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  give 
personal  presents  to  several  who  specially  won  his 
admiration  and  regard. 

These  are  outstanding  instances.  Many  more  could 
be  adduced,  if  space  permitted,  of  similar  kindness 
from  local  officials,  some  of  whom  lost  valuable  posts 
in  consequence,  posts  which  it  had  cost  large  sums 
of  monev  to  secure. 


416  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

The  actual  work  of  reopening  the  stations  was 
necessarily  gradual.  Before  the  last  refugee  had  left 
Shan-si,  work  was  already  resumed  in  some  stations 
in  the  more  accessible  provinces.  Several,  for  in- 
stance, were  reentered  in  Cheh-kiang  and  Kiang-si 
before  the  close  of  the  disastrous  year.  Even  Chung- 
king, in  the  West,  was  reported  quiet  and  peaceable 
by  Mr.  James,  of  our  Si-ch'uan  staff,  and  reopened 
in  December.  Glad,  indeed,  were  the  Christians  to 
welcome  him  back! 

During  the  spring  the  province  of  Kiang-si  was 
pronounced  safe  for  lady  workers  by  the  British 
consul-general,  and  by  the  end  of  April  work  was 
resumed  in  the  principal  ladies'  stations  there.  About 
the  same  time  the  ladies'  stations  on  the  Grand  Canal 
were  reopened.  Great  was  the  joy  of  the  native 
Christians  in  both  of  these  districts  at  the  return  of 
the  workers,  who  were  sho^vn  great  courtesy  and 
respect  by  the  local  mandarins. 

In  May,  work  was  resumed  by  the  men  in  the  far 
northwest,  but  it  was  several  months  before  it  was 
advisable  for  ladies  to  return,  on  account  of  the  pres- 
ence of  the  court  at  Si-an. 

During  the  same  month  of  May,  Mr.  Andrew 
Wright  revisited  the  scenes  of  martyrdom  in  Che- 
kiang,  and  reported  the  people  quiet  and  friendly. 
But  one  of  the  most  encouraging  events  of  this  period 
was  the  opening,  in  the  early  summer,  of  the  capital 
of  Hu-nan,  so  long  the  most  anti-foreign  province  in 
the  empire,  by  Dr.  Keller,  of  the  China  Inland  Mis- 


RECONSTRUCTION.  417 

sion.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  tlie  ^^foreign 
office"  at  the  city  of  Ch'ang-sha  rendered  the  doctor 
every  possible  assistance  in  securing  a  suitable  house, 
the  mandarin  in  charge  entertaining  hmi  meanwhile 
with  generous  hospitality. 

About  the  same  time,  either  before  or  after,  a 
visit  was  paid  to  this  city  by  the  distinguished  mis- 
sionary veteran,  Dr.  Griffith  John,  of  the  London 
Mission.  He  was  cordially  welcomed  by  the  gover- 
nor, who  even  lent  his  own  private  steam  launch  to 
take  him  to  an  out-station  further  up  the  i-iver,  and 
to  bring  him  back  all  the  way  to  Han-kow !  'Not  long 
after  this  same  official  sent  Dr.  John  a  very  friendly 
letter  and  his  photograph. 

Later  in  the  summer  work  was  recoim^nenced  in  the 
southwest ;  in  Yun-nan  under  the  experienced  leader- 
ship of  the  Kev.  John  McCarthy,  and  in  Kuei-chau 
with  Mr.  Charles  T.  Fishe  as  Superintendent. 

But  the  most  important,  as  well  as  the  most 
onerous  work  of  reconstruction  was  in  Shan-si,  and 
this  was  undertaken  by  eight  missionaries,  four  be- 
longing to  other  Boards,  and  four  members  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission,  including  Mr.  D.  E.  Iloste,  its 
Acting  General  Director.  They  arrived  at  the  capi- 
tal of  Shan-si  ^n  July  9th,  exactly  a  year  from  the  sad 
day  of  carnage  in  that  city.  But  to  this  ^dsit,  and 
the  official  reception,  and  the  public  funeral  of  the 
mai-tyrs  which  followed,  reference  will  be  made 
later. 

In  the  fall  of  the  yeax  work  was  resumed  in  the 

27 


418  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

difficult  province  of  Ho-nan.  And  before  tlie  end 
of  1901,  the  last  of  the  missionaries  to  the  interior 
had  left  Shanghai,  and  work  was  resumed  in  most  of 
the  stations.  Permission  had  even  been  given  for 
lady  missionaries  to  return  to  work  in  the  five  great 
provinces  of  the  west,  though  not  yet  in  Shan-si. 
Indeed,  it  was  not  until  the  fall  of  1902  that  it  Avas 
deemed  advisable  for  single  ladies  to  return  to  that 
j)rovince.  One  of  these,  who  had  been  home  for  a 
short  furlough  after  the  experiences  of  1900,  feared 
that  her  mother  might  be  distressed  at  the  thought 
of  her  return.  ^'ISTo,  indeed,  my  darling,''  said  the 
noble  mother,  '^if  the  native  Christians  have  been 
willing  to  suffer  so  much  for  you,  the  least  you  can 
do  is  to  return  to  help  and  comfort  them,  now  that 
peace  is  reestablished.  I  am  glad  that  you  should 
return  to  serve  the  Lord  Jesus  there." 

But  Ch'ang-sha  in  Hu-nan  was  not  the  only  pro- 
vincial capital  to  be  opened  after  the  troubles,  and 
as  the  direct  result  of  the  crisis.  Ch'ang-sha  was 
opened,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  summer  of  1901 ;  and 
in  the  following  winter  Mr.  Powell,  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission,  deeming  it  wise  to  take  advantage 
of  the  political  reaction,  endeavored  to  open  K'ai- 
fung,  the  capital  of  Ho-nan  in  Xorth  China.  He  had 
repeatedly  visited  the  city  before,  with  no  apparent 
result:  but  now,  after  considerable  difficulty  and  no 
little  prayer,  succeeded  in  renting  premises.  There- 
upon he  was  Adsited  every  day  for  a  week  by  manda- 
rins, and  warned  of  the  unfriendliness  of  the  city,  and 


EECONSTRUCTION.  419 

of  its  undesirability  from  the  point  of  view  of  health 
(it  is  very  damp  owing  to  the  saline  soil) ;  one  official, 
especially,  bringing  forth  fresli  arguments  each  day 
to  persuade  the  courageous  missionary  to  retire. 

All  persuasion  failing,  this  "foreign  office''  man- 
darin said:  "Well,  if  you  must  stay,  I  will  do  all  in 
my  power,  of  course,  to  protect  you."  "And  will  you 
protect  my  landlord?"  inquired  Powell,  who  had  had 
some  experience.  Hesitating  a  moment,  and  realiz- 
ing that  this  also  was  his  duty,  he  said,  "Yes,  I  will." 
"Then  everything  is  peaceably  settled,"  replied  the 
missionary,  somewhat  to  the  amusement  and  sur- 
prise of  the  disappointed  official. 

Two  other  important  cities  were  opened  about  this 
time,  in  different  parts  of  China.  One  of  them,  Yen- 
chau  Fu,  in  Cheh-kiang,  was  the  direct  result  of 
the  martyrdoms  in  the  neighboring  district:  it  had 
been  the  only  unoccupied  Fu  (or  prefectural  city) 
in  the  province.  The  other,  Kuang-sin  Fu,  in  Kiang- 
si,  the  chief  city  on  the  Kuang-sin  river,  was  opened 
by  lady  missionaries  in  FebiTiary,  1902. 

A  very  important  feature  of  this  reconstruction 
period  was  the  public  memorial  service  held  at  each 
place  that  had  been  rendered  sacred  by  martyr  blood. 
The  first  of  these  was  solemnized  at  Pao-ting  Fu, 
within  one  hundred  miles  of  Pekin,  on  March  23d 
and  24th,  1901,  and  the  last  not  until  eighteen 
months  later  (after  long  negotiation)  at  Kiu-chau 
in  Cheh-kiang. 

The  most  important  of  the  whole  series  was  that 


420  THESE    FOKTY    YEARS. 

held  at  T'ai-juan,  in  July,  1901,  where  so  many  pre- 
cious lives  had  been  laid  down  the  year  before.  This, 
the  first  of  the  memorial  services  in  Shan-si,  may  be 
taken  as  an  example  of  what  occurred,  Avith  minor 
modifications,  at  each  center. 

Before  the  arrival  at  T'ai-yuan  of  the  returning 
missionaries,  when  they  were  yet  thirty  miles  from 
the  city,  they  were  welcomed  by  a  company  of 
cavalry,  in  charge  of  a  military  mandarin,  wdio,  after 
Avelcoming  the  missionaries  in  the  name  of  the  gov- 
ernor, inquired  at  what  time  he  might  expect  them 
at  the  capital.  Ten  miles  from  the  city  a  larger  and 
more  imposing  company,  the  governor's  bodyguard, 
with  banners  and  trumpets,  was  added  to  their  escort. 
At  the  south  gate  an  immense  crowd  was  gathered. 
Here  a  large  pavilion  had  been  erected;  a  herald 
greeted  them  "in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,"  and 
leading  mandarins  and  city  magnates  gave  them  a 
formal  and  cordial  w^elcome.  After  a  light  luncheon, 
presided  over  by  an  English-speaking  mandarin,  they 
entered  the  city  and  were  conducted  to  a  handsome 
official  residence,  wdiich  had  been  prepared  for  their 
use.  Here  again  they  were  welcomed  by  high  offi- 
cials and  leading  citizens.  After  partaking  of  a  feast 
which  was  awaiting  them,  return  visits  were  paid 
that  day  and  the  next,  July  9th  and  10th.  But  of 
course,  the  most  touching  welcome  was  from  the 
native  Christians,  the  joy  on  whose  seamed  and 
scarred  faces  touched  the  missionaries  to  the  heart. 
A  suitable  cemeterv  had  alreadv  been  secured  and 


RECONSTRUCTIOX.  421 

walled  in  at  a  beautiful  situation,  on  a  hillside  over- 
looking the  city  and  the  plain.  Here  the  remains  of 
the  missionaries  and  children  had  been  interred,  each 
grave  being  marked  by  a  pedestal  surmounted  by  a 
cross,  in  appropriate  recognition  of  the  cause  in  which 
they  fell. 

After  all  the  arrangements  were  complete,  on  July 
ISth,  a  memorial  service  was  held,  attended  by  most 
of  the  principal  dignitaries,  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  martyrs  were  beheaded.  Then  the  procession 
started,  headed  by  the  mandarins,  for  whom  the  way 
was  cleared  by  outrunners  beating  gongs;  next  came 
the  funeral  wreaths  presented  by  the  officials  and 
gentry,  two  hundred  foot  soldiers  and  fifty  cavalry; 
then  the  foreigners,  in  four-bearer  chairs  of  state, 
and  native  Christians,  followed  by  nineteen  large  red 
satin  banners  inscribed  with  the  names  of  the  mar- 
tyrs in  gold;  then  more  Christians,  and  last  of  all, 
another  small  company  of  soldiers.  The  slow,  solemn 
procession  took  three  hours  to  reach  the  new  ceme- 
tery. Here  a  laudatory  address  in  memoriam,  by  the 
governor,  was  read  by  a  mandarin;  a  salaam  was 
made  by  the  officials  before  the  graves,  and  then 
followed  a  Christian  service,  led  by  Mr.  Hoste. 

It  was  a  sad  day  for  the  missionaries,  but  one  for 
which  they  and  the  native  Christians  were  profoundly 
thankful  as  thev  looked  forward  to  the  future. 


CHAPTEK    YIL 


THE  PRESENT  CONDITIOIS'. 

Missionary  operations  have  now  been  resumed  all 
over  China,  very  few  of  the  stations  remaining  closed 
at  the  end  of  1902.  As  to  the  present  condition  of 
the  work,  the  following  facts  will  aid  in  forming  an 
opinion : 

As  early  as  April,  1901,  it  was  possible  to  report 
at  the  home  headquarters:  "From  the  missionary 
point  of  view,  the  position  of  affairs  in  China  is,  we 
think,  steadily  improving.  A  considerable  number 
of  our  missionaries  have  returned  to  their  stations 
and  more  are  returning.  .  .  .  The  native  Chris- 
tians are  delighted  to  have  our  brethren  back.  In 
some  places  .  .  .  the  welcome  to  the  returning 
missionaries  was  overwhelmingly  joyful. 

"A  cheery  feature  in  the  condition  of  things,  as 
regards  the  Church  in  China,  is,  that  during  the  en- 
forced absence  of  the  missionaries  the  work  has  not 
sustained  so  serious  a  check  as  might  naturally  have 
been  expected,  excepting,  of  course,  in  the  province 
of  Shan-si.  .  .  .  The  native  Christians  have 
themselves  been  carrying  on  the  work,  and  we  hear 
that  in  some  places  not  only  has  there  been  no  back- 
ward movement,  but  on  the  contrary  the  tendency 
has  been  to  go  forward." 

422 


THE    PRESENT    CONDITION.  423 

Of  course,  during  the  Boxer  troubles,  a  large  num- 
ber of  missionaries  had  gone  home  on  furlough. 
Their  work  was  at  a  standstill  and  many  of  them  ur- 
gently needed  rest,  and  it  was  important  that  as  soon 
as  work  could  be  resumed  the  missionaries  should  be 
fresh  and  ready  for  strenuous  service. 

Within  a  year  of  the  "Keign  of  Terror"  we  read 
that  "tranquillity  is  being  restored  throughout 
China."  The  leaders  of  the  Mission  in  China  cabled 
home  accordingly  for  the  missionaries  on  furlough  to 
return. 

By  this  time,  mid-summer,  1901,  the  premises  in 
Shanghai,  which  had  been  so  crowded  in  the  winter, 
had  resumed  their  normal  condition.  (The  additional 
temporary  homes  which  had  to  be  rented  in  the  fall 
of  1900,  had  all  been  closed,  of  course,  for  months.) 
And  from  far  and  near  the  returning  missionaries 
were  sending  in  encouraging  tidings  of  the  churches. 
The  local  mandarins  had  officially  w^elcomed  them  on 
their  return,  always  with  courtesy  and  in  most  cases 
with  marked  cordiality.  Indeed,  in  many  places  they 
were  accorded  quite  an  ovation ! 

The  following  extracts,  taken  from  a  large  number 

of  similar  reports,  will  be  of  interest  as  throwing  light 

on  the  condition  of  things  during  the  six,  nine,  or 

twelve  months  of  the  missionaries'  absence : 

Taking  them  in  the  order  in  which  work  was  resumed, 
we  hear  from  Cheh-kiang:  "In  the  midst  of  all  the  trouble 
last  year,  Pastor  Ren  had  many  applications  for  baptism. 
In  July  he  baptized  four,  in  September  three,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  year  six.     All  of  these  came  into  the  Church 


424  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

ready  for,  and  in  fact  expecting,  persecution.  Thank  God 
for  such  a  work!"    This  was  at  Hang-chau. 

From  Kiang-si  Mr.  William  Taylor,  of  Kih-an,  re- 
ported: "All  the  Christians,  tliough  persecuted  and  threat- 
ened, remained  faithful."  At  Kwei-k'i,  in  the  same  prov- 
ince: "The  Christians  are  very  bright,  with  few  excep- 
tions." This  is  the  most  important  and  the  most  successful 
of  the  chain  of  ladies'  stations  on  the  Kuang-sin  river.  "At 
Yuh-shan,  another  very  encouraging  ladies'  station,  on  our 
arrival,  we  found  to  our  surprise  that  the  house  had  been 
cleaned  and  put  in  order.  .  .  .  The  spirit  of  love  and 
unity  among  the  four  native  Christians  who  were  in  re- 
sponsibility during  our  absence  is  beautiful.  They  have 
been  of  one  mind  and  heart  all  the  time.  .  .  .  It  is  so 
clear  that  the  Lord  ....  has  given  them  a  love  for 
souls  and  a  burning  desire  to  do  His  work  that  they  never 
had  before." 

In  the  next  province  west,  Hu-nan,  we  hear  from  the 
comparatively  new  station  of  Ch'en-chau,  from  Mr.  Bruce 
(since  martyred):  "Everything  seems  to  be  running 
smoothly  here.  The  Sabbath  services  continue  to  be  well 
attended.  Among  others  whose  interest  in  spiritual  things 
seems  to  be  deepening  I  might  mention  Mr.  Liu,  a  school- 
teacher." 

From  Si-ch'uan,  still  farther  west,  Mr.  James  had 
been  able  to  telegraph  as  early  as  December,  1900,  that 
the  native  Christians  at  Chung-king  had  been  greatly  re- 
joiced at  the  commencing  return  of  their  missionary 
friends.  Two  or  three  months  later,  from  the  capital, 
Ch'en-tu,  we  hear:  "The  natives  did  not  know  of  my  com- 
ing, and  it  was  a  welcome  surprise  that  morning  when 
I  walked  in.  Each  one  vied  with  the  other  in  showing 
their  joy  over  my  return.  The  converts  had  all  stood  firm 
and  loyal  to  their  profession,  and  now  tliey  are  less  liable 
to  fall  away  than  before." 

From  the  central  province  of  An-huei  we  read:  "On 
arrival  here  the  service  was  going  on  in  the  chapel.  Liu  of 
Siang-hsien  was  leading.  There  was  great  joy  on  seeing 
us.     The  Christians  were  all  present.     The  people  seemed 


THE    PRESENT    CONDITION.  425 

friendly."  This  was  at  Chen-yang-l^uan.  From  Ning-kuoh, 
in  the  same  province,  we  read:  *'The  Christians  have,  on 
the  whole,  done  well," 

Most  of  the  above  reports  were  sent  in  during  the  first 
three  months  of  1901.  A  little  later  we  hear  from  one  of 
the  far  northwestern  provinces:  "The  meetings  have  been 
kept  up  very  well,  and  many  new  inquirers  have  been  added. 
Two  have  been  allured  by  the  'golden  pill'  to  join  the 
Roman  Catholics."     (Han-chong.) 

About  this  time  it  became  practicable  to  resume  work 
in  the  distracted  province  of  Shan-tung,  where  the  Boxer 
movement  had  its  inception.  The  governor  of  this  province 
had  sought  to  help  the  native  Christians  in  1900,  so  far  as 
he  dared,  by  suggesting  a  "purely  nominal"  recantation, 
which  was  to  be  made  by  some  leading  member  on  behalf 
of  each  church.  In  this  way  he  had  hoped  to  avoid  the  diflEl- 
culty  of  dealing  with  individuals,  some  of  whom  might  re- 
fuse to  recant.  This  enlightened  statesman,  Yuan  Shi-k'ai, 
now  did  all  he  could  to  make  amends  for  the  deplorable 
past,  and  issued  a  proclamation  so  favorable  to  Christianity 
that  it  has  often  been  spoken  of  as  the  "Magna  Charta  of 
Protestant  Missions  in  Shan-tung." 

When  at  last,  in  the  summer  of  1901,  it  was  possible  for 
missionaries  to  return  to  Shan-si,  not  only  was  it  a  pa- 
thetic experience  to  be  on  the  spot  where  so  many  foreign 
and  native  Christians  had  suffered  and  fallen,  but  it  was 
sad  also  by  reason  of  the  many  who,  under  terrible  pressure, 
had  recanted.  Happily,  the  leaders  of  the  Church  were  the 
first  to  recognize  the  gravity  of  the  mistake  they  had  made, 
and  with  deep  humiliation  and  tears  to  make  confession  of 
their  sin  to  God.  After  a  time  of  conference  and  prayer 
with  the  most  prominent  pastors  and  elders,  Mr.  Hoste  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  native  Christians — men  conspicuous 
for  their  piety,  trustworthiness,  and  sound  common  sense — 
to  prepare  an  estimate  of  losses  at  each  station,  with  a 
view  to  compensation;  the  whole  work  being  under  the 
oversight  and  superintendence  of  duly  appointed  leaders. 
Although,  as  we  have  seen,  not  a  few  in  this  province  had 
accepted  the  tokens  of  recantation,  most  of  them,  it  was 


426  THESE    FOETY    YEARS. 

found,  had  not  really  gone  back,  but  were  still  true  to  the 
Lord  in  purpose  and  in  life.  For  this,  heartfelt  thanksgiv- 
ing went  up  to  God. 

In  the  autumn  of  1901  work  was  resumed  in  Ho-nan, 
and  the  following  reports,  which  had  been  previously  sent 
in  by  leading  church  members,  proved  to  be  correct.  In 
spite  of  very  bitter  persecution,  "only  one  woman  had  gone 
back"  at  Siang-hsien.  "We  were  enabled  to  meet  to- 

gether for  worship  just  as  usual  and  to  keep  the  Sabbath. 
Although  a  few  of  the  women  were  timid,  after  a  little  ex- 
hortation they  took  courage.  The  mandarin  had  issued  an 
order  that  all  Christians  should  enter  their  names,  saying 
that  they  were  willing  to  recant,  and  he  would  protect 
them.  Not  one  of  the  members,  however,  was  willing  to  do 
so;  they  sought  to  serve  the  Lord  with  greater  earnestness 
than  ever.  For  this  we  do  praise  God!"  (Ch'en-chau.) 
"They  met  regularly  on  the  Sabbath  day  to  worship  God." 
(T'ang-li,  Ch'en-chau  out-station.)  "We  have  been  enabled 
to  meet  together  in  Ko  Lao-siang's  house  every  Sunday 
since  you  left,  to  worship  God."  Another  letter  says  that 
shortly  after  the  missionaries  had  left,  the  city  was  in  an 
uproar,  noisy  crowds  clamoring  for  the  lives  of  the  Chris- 
tians; but,  it  being  Sunday,  they  met  in  this  brother's 
house  for  public  worship,  and  expounded  the  Scriptures, 
united  in  prayer  and  "sang  the  praises  of  God  with  a  loud 
Noice,  and  were  not  afraid."    (T'ai-kang). 

Much  more  of  a  similar  nature  might  easily  be 
added,  but  this  will  suffice  to  show  that  through  a 
time  of  unparalleled  trial  and  persecution  the  native 
Church,  as  a  whole,  had  stood  firm.  A  few  tares  had 
been  weeded  out  here  and  there:  but  by  far  the 
greater  part  had  proved  to  be  ^'the  good  seed  of  the 
Kingdom."  The  churches,  slightly  diminished  in 
numl)crs,  had  been  greatly  strengthened  in  purity. 
Even  in  Shan-si  the  most  prominent  of  all  the  native 


THE    PRESENT    CONDITION.  427 

Christians,  Elder  Hsii,  stated :  ^'Tliank  the  Lord,  the 
Church  of  God  is  in  the  most  hopeful  condition,  and 
there  are  signs  of  great  interest  and  prosperity. 
Wherever  we  preach,  the  people  are  willing  to  listen 
to  the  Gospel:  and  what  is  better  still,  numbers  have 
given  up  idolatry  and  are  worshiping  God.  There 
are,  moreover,  signs  of  advance  in  the  Church  also." 
He  goes  on  to  give  details  of  the  generous  gifts  of 
the  Christians  toward  rebuilding  the  churches.  All 
had  given  a  tenth,  and  some  even  a  fifth  of  their 
compensation,  which  had  been  based  on  very  mod- 
erate estimates.  "Best  of  all,  there  are  some  who  are 
serving  the  Lord  with  intense  earnestness.  Praise 
the  Lord,  the  sufferings  of  1900  have  been  a  great 
blessing  to  the  Church.  The  good  are  truly  like  gold 
that  has  been  refined  in  the  fire,  while  the  worth- 
lessness  of  the  bad  has  become  manifest.  .  .  .  ^All 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,' 
is  certainly  true!" 

One  more  statement  must  be  added  to  complete  this 
brief  review  of  the  conditions  on  the  field.  On 
jSTovember  20th,  1901,  Bishop  Cassels,  of  the  West 
China  Episcopal  Diocese,  wrote  to  the  Mission  head- 
quarters as  follows:  ^'There  is  a  great  movement 
towards  Christianity  spreading  over  this  district,  and 
there  are  many  open  doors.  Scores  of  idols  have 
been  destroyed;  hundreds  of  taels  have  been  given 
toward  preparing  churches  to  meet  in,  and  large 
numbers  of  Bibles  have  been  bought;  and  now  the 
people  are  begging  me  to  send  preachers  to  teach 


428  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

tliem.  The  matter  is  urgent.  There  is  no  time  to 
be  lost.  The  flood  tide  is  just  coming  in.  .  .  .  If  we 
seem  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  present  appeals  for 
help,  the  people's  hearts  will  harden,  and  they  will 
grow  careless  again.  .  .  .  We  must  strike  while  the 
iron  is  hot. 

'^1  have  just  returned  from  a  forty-five  days'  jour- 
ney into  eleven  different  counties,  covering  about 
1,000  miles.  In  twenty  or  thirty  places  I  have  met 
with  companies  of  people,  numbering  from  a  little 
handful  up  to  one  or  two  hundred,  who  desired  to 
enter  the  Church,  and  who  have  in  some  places  been 
most  importunate  in  their  entreaties  that  I  would 
send  them  missionaries.  My  native  catechist  was 
almost  forcibly  detained  in  several  places,  so  anxious 
were  the  people  to  have  a  preacher. 

''Is  it  not  a  sad  picture  ?  Churches  prepared,  peo- 
ple with  Bibles  in  their  hands,  ready  to  be  taught, 
and  glad  to  kneel  in  prayer  to  God.  (Oh,  what  a 
contrast  with  past  years !)  And  yet  no  one  to  go 
and  preach  to  them !'' 

Assurances  have  since  been  received  that  the  above 
is  largely  true  of  the  remainder  of  Si-ch'uan;  and, 
indeed,  with  minor  modifications,  it  describes  the  con- 
dition of  things  in  many  parts  of  the  empire. 

If  the  present  condition  of  affairs  in  China  means 
anything,  it  surely  means — that  the  time  is  come 
for  the  Church  of  God  to  GO  FORWARD. 


CHAPTEE   VIII. 


THE    OUTLOOK. 

Arp:  there  any  data  available  by  which  an  estimate 
may  be  formed  as  to  the  possible  future  of  China 
from  the  Christian  point  of  view?  Anything  ap- 
proaching a  mathematical  certainty  is,  of  course,  out 
of  the  question,  but  there  are  several  facts  that  may 
help  in  forming  an  opinion. 

First  and  foremost  of  these  is  the  steady  progress 
which  has  been  made  in  the  work.  During  the  last 
quarter  of  the  old  century  there  was  a  regailar  in- 
crease in  the  Protestant  Church  in  China  at  the  rate 
of  ten  or  twelve  per  cent,  every  year.  And  this  re- 
sulted in  a  Christian  community,  at  the  close  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  of  a  quarter  of  a  million,"  in- 
cluding church  members,  applicants  for  fellowship 
and  children  of  believers.  It  is  easy  to  see  that,  if 
this  progress  is  maintained,  the  first  quarter  of  the 
twentieth  century  will  see  a  marked  change  come 
over  the  face  of  China,  and  there  are  many  reasons 
for  hoping  that  this  ratio  will  not  only  be  maintained 
but  increased.  Be  that  as  it  may,  a  simple  calcula- 
tion will  show  that  at  the  old  rate  of  progress 
(doubling  each  eight  years,  as  it  did  during  the  last 


♦See  also  Warneck,  quoted  in  appendix  to  "Martyred 
Missionaries,"  on  page  323,  footnote. 

429 


430  THESE    FORTY    YEAES. 

quarter  of  a  century),  in  twenty-four  years  from  now 
the  Protestant  community  will  number  two  millions. 
God  grant  that  it  may!  That  would  be  one  in  two 
hundred  of  the  entire  population,  instead  of  about 
one  in  twelve  thousand,  as  it  was  just  twenty-five 
years  ago.  And  yet  some  people  say  that  Christian- 
ity is  not  overtaking  heathenism! 

Hand  in  hand  with  christianization  will,  of  course, 
go  education  and  material  progress.  A  Christian 
community  of  two  millions,  including  many  of  the 
most  enlightened  and  most  highly  educated  and 
thoughtful  people  in  the  country,  would  obviously 
go  far  toward  forming  the  public  opinion. 

Of  course  there  is  a  prior  question.  Will  the 
present  dispensation  run  on  another  five  and  twenty 
years?  And  this  no  man  can  say.  But  if  our  Lord 
should  return  sooner  than  some  of  His  people  expect, 
what  could  please  Him  better  than  to  find  His  dis- 
ciples earnestly  working  for  and  accomplishing  the 
evangelization  of  China?  For  a  Christian  community 
of  two  millions  would  not  only  mean  that  that  number 
had  been  brought  into  the  Fold,  but  also  that  the 
remaining  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  of  each  two 
hundred  would  also  have  heard,  or  at  least  have  had 
a  chance  of  hearing,  of  the  Way  of  Life  as  it  is  in 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

Seeing  then  that  a  literal  compliance  with  the  de- 
sire of  our  Saviour  Friend  is  so  easily  within  the  lim- 
its of  practical  missionary  politics,  why  should  not 


THE    OUTLOOK.  ^^^ 


the  Church  of  Christ  unite,  earnestly  and  deter- 
minedly, to  cause  Him  to  "see  of  the  travail  of  His 
soul  and  be  satisfied?" 

We  are  His.  We  live  to  serve  Him.  The  very 
reason  of  our  existence  is  that  we  may  "glorify  Hun" 
now  "and  enjoy  Him  forever."  Since  this  is  what 
He  bids  us  do,  and  what  is  actually  being  accom- 
plished before  our  eyes,  ought  we  not  all  of  us  to 
take  some  share  in  the  uplifting  of  this  most  popu- 
lous and  most  potent  of  the  heathen  races  of  the 

earth?  .      . 

There  are  other  indications,  also,  which  point  m 
the  same  direction.  The  present  attitude  of  the 
ffovernment  is  not  comparable  with  anythmg  that 
has  been  witnessed  in  the  past.  The  uniform  cour- 
tesy and  friendliness  of  mandarins  all  over  the  em- 
pire (with  rare  exceptions)  proves,  beyond  a  doubt, 
that  this  is  the  accepted  policy  of  the  government. 
There  never  has  been  such  an  opportunity  before. 

The  war  indemnity  tax  is,  of  course,  an  adverse 
element  in  the  problem.    Decimated  by  the  foreign 
forces  in  the  northeast  and  by  the  Mohammedan 
rebellion   in   the   northwest,    desolated   by   faimne 
throughout  the  northern  provinces,  and  at  the  best 
of  times  one  of  the  poorest  of  all  civilized  peoples- 
necessarily  so  on  account  of  the  density  of  the  popu- 
lation-this  indemnity  is  pressing,  and  will  press, 
much  more  heavily  than  is  realized  by  the  Western 
world.    And  this  burden  is  greatly  increased  by  the 
rapacitv  of  the  native  officials  through  whose  hands 


432  THESE    FORTY    YEARS. 

the  taxes  have  to  pass.  Even  in  ordinary  times  the 
normal  land  tax  for  governmental  purposes  presses 
heavily  enough.  But  the  interest  on  three  hundred 
million  dollars,  together  with  a  sinking  fund  of  one 
fortieth  of  the  principal,  will  be  a  heavy  burden,  in- 
deed, and  one  that  wdll  be  apt  to  create  unrest  and 
discontent  among  the  people.  That  this  is  a  very 
serious  element  of  the  question  cannot  be  denied. 
The  government  understands,  however,  that  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  to  pay,  and  will  probably  do  all  in 
its  power  to  maintain  friendly  relations. 

Another  grave  element  in  the  situation  is  the  ex- 
travagant compensation  demanded  by  the  Roman 
Catholics  all  over  the  empire.  And  more  serious  still 
is  their  settled  policy  of  claiming  temporal  power  and 
civil  authority  over  their  adherents.  This  is  con- 
stantly bringing  them  into  collision  with  the  native 
officials,  who  cannot  but  resent  such  continued  inter- 
ference with  the  process  of  the  law. 

Judged  from  the  human  standpoint,  it  is  greatly 
to  be  regretted  that  two  of  China's  most  enlightened 
statesmen  should  have  passed  away  at  this  juncture. 
On  ]^ovember  7th,  1901,  His  Excellency  Li  Hung- 
chang,  fo^'  many  ^^ears  the  prime  minister  of  China, 
died,  and  -wdtliin  a  year  he  was  followed  by  the  en- 
lightened viceroy  of  Nankin,  His  Excellency  Liu 
K'un-i.  In  them  China  lost  two  of  her  safest  and 
wisest  advisers,  and  the  Foreign  PoAvers  the  assist- 
ance of  two  diplomats  who  knew,  better  than  most  of 
their  countrymen,  the  value  of  peace  and  the  ruinous 


THE    OUTLOOK.  433 

costliness  of  war.  Happily  they  are  succeeded  by  two 
men  equally  alive  to  the  gravity  of  the  present  situa- 
tion, and  the  necessity  of  maintaining  amicable  rela- 
tions with  the  AVest.  Their  Excellencies  Chang  Chili- 
tung  and  Yuan  Shi-k'ai,  may  be  trusted  to  do  all  in 
their  power  to  avoid  further  trouble. 

Among  many  other  signs  of  the  enlightened  and 
progressive  policy  that  has  now  been  adopted  by 
China  may  be  mentioned  the  following : 

Among  the  articles  of  the  Peace  Protocol,  signed  at 
Pekin  on  September  Gth,  1901,  is  one  promising  that  the 
Chinese  government  will  post  in  every  county  town  in  the 
empire,  edicts:  (a)  Prohibiting  perpetually  membership  in 
an  anti-foreign  society,  under  pain  of  death;  {b)  enumer- 
ating the  punishments  inflicted  by  the  government  on 
princes,  officials,  and  others  (including  the  death  sentence 
on  ex-Governor  Yu-hsien);  (c)  suppressing  examinations 
for  five  years  in  all  towns  where  foreigners  have  been  ill- 
treated  or  killed;  (d)  declaring  provincial  and  local  officials 
responsible  in  the  event  of  further  trouble. 

In  the  spring  of  1901  the  highest  officials  in  China,  vice- 
roys and  governors,  were  commanded  to  report  on  the  Em- 
peror's reform  edicts  of  1898.  They  agreed  to  recommend, 
among  others,  the  following  improvements:  (a)  Princes  and 
nobles  should  study  abroad;  {h)  students  of  good  family 
must  study  abroad  before  becoming  officials;  (c)  all  the 
examinations  need  to  be  thoroughly  revised;  (d)  more 
schools  and  colleges  are  required;  (e)  the  Imperial  Post 
should  be  extended  over  the  whole  empire;  (f)  the  silver 
dollar  should  be  made  the  universal  legal  tender.  (These 
should  be  adopted  immediately;  mining  laws,  etc.,  should 
follow.) 

So  recently  as  September  5th,  1902,  a  commercial  treaty 
was  signed  with  England,  among  the  articles  of  which  are: 
(a)  China  will  protect  British  trade-marks;  (h)  will  permit 
removal  of  obstructions  to  navigation  on  upper  Yang-tse 


434  THESE    FOETY    YEAES. 

(above  I-chang);  (<?)  will  provide  a  uniform  national  cur- 
rency; ((/)  will  abolish  li-kin  (a  most  galling  inter-state 
customs  tax);  (e)  will  energetically  amend  existing  rules  for 
inland  navigation;  if)  desires  to  reform  her  judicial  system 
in  accordance  with  that  of  Western  nations. 

Ill  addition  to  the  above  may  be  mentioned  the 
Anglo-Japanese  treaty,  which  was  concluded  on  Jan- 
ary  30th,  1902,  and  which  should  go  far  to  maintain 
peace  in  the  Orient,  backed  np  strongly^  as  it  is,  by 
tlie  community  of  interest  of  the  United  States.  For 
the  principal  end  in  viev/  in  the  agreement  is  the 
maintenance  of  (a)  the  integrity  of  the  Chinese  Em- 
pire, and  (b)  an  "open  door''  to  the  commerce  of  the 
world. 

These  things  being  so — the  country  being  more 
open  for  evangelization  than  ever  before,  the  gov- 
ernment and  officials  being  more  conciliatory  and 
earnestly  desirous  for  progress  and  reform,  and  being 
for  the  most  part  as  friendly  toward  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries as  one  could  reasonably  expect,  and  the  peo- 
ple being  so  ready  to  listen  to  the  "new  teaching"  of 
Christianity,  including  the  scholarly  classes  hitherto 
so  inaccessible — it  is  surely  incumbent  upon  all  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  do  what  they  can  to 
improve  the  present  priceless  opportunity  vdiile  it 
lasts. 

To  be  as  practical  as  possible,  it  is  suggested  that 
the  reader  should  set  aside,  without  delay,  a  conveni- 
ent time,  either  longer  or  shorter,  to  wait  upon  God, 
asking,  "Lord,  Avhat  wouldst  Thou  have  me  to  do?" 


THE    OUTLOOK.  435 

earnestly  expecting  guidance  and  dcterniined  to  obey 
it.  For  the  Harvest  Home  is  drawing  near,  wlien  he 
that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  shall  rejoice  to- 
gether in  the  presence  of  our  Lord.  This  blessed 
service  is  not,  as  we  have  seen,  without  result:  nor 
will  it  be,  assuredly,  without  commensurate  reward. 


